24th Congress, [ D oc# No. 271. 1 Ho. of Reps. 

1st Session. 




ft 



SEMINOLE HOSTILITIES. 



FROM THE 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 

TRANSMITTING 

A supplemental report respecting the causes of the Seminole hostilities^ 
and the measures taken to suppress them. 



June 3, 1836. 

Referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. 



Washington, June 3, 1836. 

To the Hgusc of Representatives : 

I transmit, herewith, a supplemental report from the War Department, in 
answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 21st ultimo, 
calling for information respecting the causes of the Seminole hostilities, 
and the measures taken to suppress them. 

ANDREW JACKSON. 



War Department, June 3, 1836. 

I have the honor to lay before you reports from the Commissary Gene- 
ral of Subsistence, and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, in further com- 
pliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of May 21st, 
and in accordance with the intimation in the letter from this Department 
to yourself of May 26th. 

It is believed that these papers, with the documents heretofore transmit- 
ted, embrace the information possessed by this Department respecting the 
causes of the Seminole difficulties, and the measures taken to suppress 
them. 

Very respectfully, 

Your most obedient servant, 

C. A. HARRIS, 

Acting Secretary of War. 

To the President of the United States. 

Blair & Rives, printers. 



LJb' * * 3 

£ [ Doc. No. 271. ] XK ^1 

War Department, 
0$ce Indian A fairs, June 3, 1836. 

Sir: I have the honor to transmit copies of correspondence in this office, 
upon the subject of Seminole affairs, in further answer to the resolution of 
the House of Representatives of the 21st ultimo. 

Yery respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

• ELBERT HERRTNG, 

C. A. Harris, Esq. 

Acting Secretary of War, - 



i 

[Extract] 

"War Department, 
Office Indian Affairs, May 13, 1836, 

"Sir: I am instructed by the Secretary of War to acknowledge the re- 
ceipt of your letter of the 12th ultimo with the enclosed report. 

" It is understood from your report that the negroes, claimed by John Mil* 
ton, rightfully belong to Econchattamico, and that they have been taken 
from him wrongfully by Robinson, against whom two indictments have 
been found.- 

"I am instructed to say, in order to prevent any misapprehension, that any 
legal proceedings that are instituted, must be considered and conducted as 
they would be against a citizen of the Territory for a similar offence ; and 
that the expenses will not be properly chargeable to the Indian Depart- 
ment 



Executive Office, 
Tallahassee, Florida, Aug. 4, 1832. 

Sir : 1 have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 
15th ultimo, enclosing a copy of a communication from the War Depart- 
ment to Colonel Gadsden, relating to the purchase of the lands of the 
Appalachicola Indians, &c. Colonel Gadsden is daily expected in this 
city, and I hope he may be able to go on, and fully consummate the busi- 
ness he has hitherto so faithfully and successfully transacted. If, however, 
he should not be able to prosecute it farther, the instructions of the Depart- 
ment will be obeyed by me to the best of my ability. 

I am, &c. 

WILLIAM P. DUVAL. 

Hon. Lewis Cass, 

Secretary of War, 



[ Doc. No. 31 i. ] 



3 



Territory of Florida, Tallahassee, 

January 20, 1834. 

Sir: In pursuance of your instructions of the 10th instant, I imme- 
diately set out to visit the bands of Indians on the Appalachicola river. 
On my way I met the northern stage, with the Indian boy we expected 
from Washington city a passenger. On my arrival at Mount Vernon, I 
was informed that the other five boys from the Choctaw academy had pre- 
ceded me a few hours, on their way to the sub-agent, which determined 
me to change my previous intention of visiting the lower or Blountstown : 
first, as I was desirous to make an impression on the parents favorable to the 
proposed return of their children to the academy in Kentucky,before a settled 
opposition to that proposition could be matured. Pursuant to that object, I 
visited Vacca Pichassie's reserve, and despatched runners to summon the 
interpreters, John Blunt, Davy Elliott, and Econchattamico, to meet me 
there on the succeeding day, as that was the most convenient point any 
where near central. I could not prevail on Blunt to let his son, with two 
other boys, who are subject to his and Davy Elliott's control, return to 
school. Relative to Vacca Pichassie's son, and the two other boys from that 
chief's town, I had but little difficulty. By addressing to Vacca Pichassie 
and Econchattamico arguments which I thought best calculated for effect, I 
readily interested them, and, aided by them, finally succeeded in obtaining 
the original number sent from the Seminole or Florida Indians to the insti- 
tution in Kentucky. I should much regret the return from school of the 
boys who are now on their way back to Kentucky, were it not for the 
strikingly happy effect which their presence and improvement produced 
upon the Indians generally, especially the parents and friends of the. boys, 
exciting very favorable impressions of the parental kindness of the Govern-, 
ment, and the importance of education. 

On delivering Blunt's son to him, witth the other boys connected with 
his band, I told him that, as the Government had incurred considerable 
expense and trouble to leave him without a pretext for further delay, he 
would not be indulged in any unnecessary delay of the departure of him- 
self and band for their intended new abode; and I called upon him to assign 
an early day for the commencement Of his emigration. I expect his arrival 
here in the course of this and the ensuing week, to consult with you and 
myself relative to conclusive arrangements connected with his intended 
emigration, at which time, according to an expressed understanding, his 
family, property, and people, will be on their way down the Appalachicola 
river and bay, to a designated point where I am to meet them, for the pur- 
pose of carrying the stipulations of the treaty with him and Davy Elliott 
into full and final effect. 

In addition to the round sum of $13,000, the United States stipulated to 
pay to them a certain portion of the annuity due, or to fall due, to the 
Florida Indians. I have no funds within my control applicable to the 
latter object. Deeply impressed by information derived from Judge Pope, 
the sub-agent, and from other sources, I am compelled to fear that a sys- 
tematic plan is matured to rob Blunt on his passage. The sub-agent 
informed me that the lawless freebooter Stafford, who robbed Blunt some- 
time ago, has been heard to say that Blunt should not escape with his life 
and money ; and the sub-agent, with others, express a confident belief that 
such an attempt will be made. The deep impression onlmmt's mind that 
the attempt will be made, induces, in part, his intended visit to you, in the 



4 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



hope that you will be able to afford him some protection until he reaches a 
point beyond the region of danger. 

Blunt" and Elliott stipulated for the removal of two hundred and fifty- 
six persons. Of that number some have died, some have fled to the Creek 
and Seminole nations, while there are some, I fear, who will give us some 
trouble before we get them off. Out of these facts arises a question which 
I beg leave to submit to your excellency. Bearing in mind that a portion 
of the thirteen thousand dollars which the United States stipulated to pay 
to Blunt and Elliott, (three thousand dollars of which was paid at the con- 
clusion of the treaty, and ten thousand to be paid when they commence 
removing,) was in consideration of the relinquishment of their reserve to 
the United States, what proportion of the whole amount shall be paid to 
them ? Justice, it seems to me, requires that the whole amount of the value 
of the land, as estimated at the conclusion of the treaty, (which Colonel 
Gadsden informs me was six thousand dollars.) should be paid to them, as 
on their removal the United States will come into immediate and undis- 
puted possession ; and as death has more effectually relieved the United 
States from the incumbrance of those who died than the commencement 
of their emigration were they living could possibly do, it seems to me that 
no deduction should be made for them. If I am right in this, then the 
only and true question is, shall a deduction be made from the remaining 
seven thousand dollars for those who have fled to the Creek and Seminole 
nations, in the proportion they bear to the two hundred and fifty six ? Do 
me the favor to advise me upon the subject. 

You are aware that a claim adverse to Econchattamico's, has been ex- 
hibited for a considerable number of slaves now in that chief's possession, 
and that the question of right has, in pursuance of instructions from the 
Department of War, been referred to Judge Cameron. The question is 
still pending, and yet the impatient avarice of the adverse claimants, 
prompts them frequently to disturb the old chief in his possession of the 
slaves in question. I was informed by the sub-agent, that Econchatta- 
mico sent a runner for him not long since, that he immediately repaired 
to the old chief's town, where he arrived in the night, and found the In- 
dians and negroes greatly excited and in arms, and that very soon there- 
after, Vacca Pechassie, with fifteen or more of his warriors in arms, arrived 
for the purpose of aiding in resistance of a threatened violent attempt to 
force the slaves out of Econchattamico's possession. Persons interested 
in the adverse claim were frequently seen hovering about the reserve, and 
the chief was informed that attempts had been made to bribe commanders 
of steam-boats on the river to aid in accomplishing the capture of the slaves , 
but that, to the credit of those commanders, they refused to lend their aid 
to such a purpose. Econchattamico informed me, when I visited his 
town a few days ago, that the principal adverse claimant, Col. Milton, left 
there not more than thirty minutes before my arrival. Under such cir- 
cumstances, I could but approve the order given by the sub -agent to Econ- 
chattamico, to defend his property by force, should a violent attempt be 
made to arrest it from him, but to be very cautious not to commit any 
wanton aggression. Econchattamico asked me what could be done to 
secure him and his property against such threatened aggression ? I took 
much pains in portraying to him his situation. I pointed to the river Chat- 
tahoochee, forming the eastern boundary of his reserve, reminded him that 
a step from his reserve on the water would land him in Georgia : that 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



5 



twelve or fifteen miles north of his reserve would reach the State of Ala- 
bama, circumstances very favorable to the objects of his enemies, as by 
getting the negroes on the water, they could baffle all pursuit, by alter- 
nately landing on the Alabama shore and re-embarking on the river, and 
thus elude the authority to arrest them from one or the other of those 
States. That although I could not recall the order given by the sub-agent, 
authorizing him to defend by force his property, when violently assailed, 
as I considered that a reasonable and natural right, yet it must be obvious 
to him, that if an affray should occur, resulting in loss of life, that it would 
be very difficult, under the circumstances by which be is surrounded, to 
justify himself in a court of justice, so as to avoid a forfeiture of his reserve, 
according to the terms of the treaty. 

That a decision of the court in his favor on the question of claim, (and 
there seems to be no doubt of that, as the question is already settled by the 
decision in Mrs. Cook's case,) will afford him but limited protection, if the 
adverse claimants are resolved, as they seem to be, to gain possession of the 
slaves, right or wrong. That, for the purpose ot arriving at a safe con- 
clusion as to the plan best calculated to relieve him from anxiety and secure 
his rights, he ought to bear in mind that, according to the terms of the 
treaty, he, with his people, will, in three years from the date of the treaty, 
be subjected to the jurisdiction of the Territory, and that all other protec- 
tion will then be withdrawn from them, unless he should determine, before 
the expiration of that period, to relinquish his reserve, and emigrate with 
the Seminole Indians beyond the Mississippi river. That if he, with his 
people, should remain on his reserve beyond that period, it was not diffi- 
cult for him to imagine what his fate will be with no other protection than 
will be afforded by the laws of the Territory, as often administered by his 
white neighbors who may feel that they have an interest which conflicts 
with his rights, when he reflects that, aided as we now are by the laws of 
the Territory, the superintendent and agents of Indian affairs cannot effec- 
tually protect him. I told him that he knows I am his friend ; that it is my 
official duty to protect the rights of the Indians, a duty which I labor to per- 
form punctiliously, especially because the best feelings of my heart prompts 
me to do so, and that I will afford him all the protection in my power ; but 
that, situated as I am, my point of location, the agency in the Seminole coun- 
try, remote from him two hundred and fifty miles, and much of my time ab- 
sent under instructions on business connected with my office, it is utterly 
out of my power to afford him that protection which my inclination prompts 
me to afford, and which his perilous situation requires. That were he with 
his people at or near the agency, he would be safe ; for if, at any time, 
his negroes, or a part of them, should be forced off, he would have my aid 
when at the agency, and the aid of Captain Graham and the troops at 
Camp King to pursue them, and that, under such circumstances, the arrest 
of the intruders would be inevitable, as in any direction from the agency, 
except seaward, the Territory extends more than one hundred miles. 
" That I was not authorized to make even these suggestions, by any thing 
but a sense of duty, and with a view to his protection : and that I knew of 
no pla,ce so likely to afford him efficient protection. That I would leave 
him to reflect upon the importance of surrendering his reserve to the 
United States and removing immediately to the neighborhood of the 
agency, under stipulations to emigrate with the Seminole Indians. That 
if he should conclude to do so, let me know as quick as possible, as there' 



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[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



was no time to lose, and I would write to the Secretary of War upon 
the subject. He replied that he saw my suggestions were reasonable, and 
knew them to be well founded. That he had confidence in me, and was 
satisfied that I am a friend to him and and his people. That he was glad 
I had presented the subject to him, for that he had already began to think 
that his only safety was in removal. That the great difficulty was, re- 
moving at this late period of the year, as by the time he could reach the 
agency and get land cleared to cultivate, it would be too late to plant ; and 
that he was apprehensive that he would be harassed by his enemies, on 
his journey, unless he should be well protected. I told him then that I 
had, as I was informed by you, the right to use the plantation connected 
with the agency for my personal benefit ; that you had promised me the 
privilege of returning to Georgia for the -purpose of moving my family to 
the agency in time to make a crop ; but apprehensive as I was compelled 
to be, of the great danger he was in of losing his property, if he would 
come to the conclusion to make the arrangement, and the Government 
should sanction it, I would give up to him and his people the plantation at 
the agency, containing two hundred, and perhaps more than two hundred 
acres of good land, which would enable him to make a good crop, and 
that I would remain and personally superintend his removal, provided 
a proper allowance should be made to me. He then expressed much 
anxiety for me to address his people upon the subject. I told him that I 
expected to be in his neighborhood again in a few days, and would then 
comply with his request : and I impressed on him the importance of so 
managing the matter as not to let an idea get abroad that he was thinking 
of removing, for it might have the effect to induce his opponents to make a 
desperate attempt to get possession of his property. 

With the foregoing facts I submit to your excellency the propriety of im- 
mediately writing to the Department of War for definite instructions upon 
the subject. By the treaty the chief has the right to surrender his reserve, 
and claim of the United States 83,000 at any time within the three years, and 
he has the additional right to hold in perpetuity. The question thence 
arises, what shall be given him, in addition to his $3,000, as a considera- 
tion for his relinquishment of his reserve, which will include a surrender 
of the latter right ? On the subject of compensation it would have been 
improper for me to have made a suggestion to him : I was therefore silent 
upon that point. If the present opportunity is to be made available, 1 submit 
to you that there is not a day to spare. 

Should we succeed with Econchattamico, Yacca Pechassie will, ere 
long, follow in his train. 

The eight Indian boys which I have selected for the Choctaw academy, 
with the five horses and trappings used in the transportation of the Indian 
boys who have recently arrived, from Kentucky, are here subject to your 
order. Mr. James Henderson, who accompanied the boys from Kentucky, 
is also with me. 

I have the honor to be. 

Yery respectfully, 

Your excellency's ob r t serwt, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 
Agent for Florida Indians, 

His Excellency Wm. P. Duval, 



[ Doc. No. £71. ] 



7 



Florida, Seminole Agency, 

December 21, 1833. 

John Winslet, a white man, 'citizen of the creek nation, west of the Mis- 
sissippi, but for some months past located in the Seminole nation, in the 
transaction of business, makes the following statement on oath. 

That having started in pursuit of three negroes, which have been lately 
seen in this nation, who lately ran off from Mr. James A. Everett, of Geor- 
gia, and having arrived in the neighborhood of Tampa Bay, he was there 
told that it would not be safe 10 pursue them much farther without force ; 
that a band of desperadoes, runaways, murderers, and thieves (negroes 
and Indians, a majority runaway slaves) are located on an island thought to 
be southeast from Charlottes Harbor, the island said to be about a mile in 
length. 

This information he received from Indians and negroes who said they 
had seen the settlement, and they had no doubt that the negroes alluded to 
had gone to that settlement. That the informants of said Winslett added, 
that there is another settlement of lawless persons (Indians and absconded 
slaves) on a creek between Manatia river and Charlotte's Harbor, some 
miles west of the latter. 

This settlement, like the other referred to, is without the Indian boun- 
dary. He says that he critically understands the Creek language, which is 
the language spoken in this nation. . 

That he carefully examined his informants, and did not misunderstand 
them. 

JOHN WINSLETT. 
Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 21st day of December, 1833. 

AUGUSTUS STEELE, J. P. 



Tallahassee, January 1, 1834. 

Sir : In obedience to your instructions of the 23d of November last, I 
proceeded to the Seminole agency, and took possession of the office, with 
all the records and papers which I there found deposited. 

Informed that the Indians from Blount's and Davy's towns, who were 
included in the stipulations by which those chiefs and their band are bound 
to emigrate, were with Fuece Lusta Hajo, a chief of the Seminole tribe, 
and that the Indians were generally out on their hunting expedition, I set 
out from the agency on an excursion through the nation, for the double 
purpose of ordering those Indians to return to their towns on the Appala- 
chicola, in time to emigrate with Blount and Davy, and to impress on the 
Indians generally, and the chiefs especially, the necessity of early prepara- 
tion for their contemplated removal to the west, (as instructed by you) as 
well as to ascertain more satisfactorily the temper of the Indians relative to 
their intended emigration, with their present general condition. 

I met Fuece Lusta Hajo at Tampa Bay, to whom I explained the pro- 
priety and necessity of his ordering the Indians from Blount's and Davy's 
towns, who were then with him, back to their towns. He manifested a 
temperate and respectful reluctance to do so, as one of them is his brother. 
I made him understand that I properly appreciated the natural sentiment 
which would dispose him to indulge his brother, but that his brother, having 



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[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



assented to the treaty, was bound by it, and that I called upon him to act 
not as a man, but as a chief ; and that if he was not capable of acting up 
to the dignity of his station, he was unfit for it. That as, in all things, he 
required of the President a strict compliance with his promises, so I, as 
agent for the Indians, under the President, required of him a prompt and 
faithful discharge of his duties as a chief. He told me it should be done. 

I saw but few of the chiefs or Indians, as they were generally out hunt- 
ing. To the extent of my opportunity, I urged the necessity of their mak- 
ing early preparations for their removal. I am informed that many of them 
(including the principal chief Miconuppe) are opposed to their contemplated 
removal. Many, including the Chew Cochatta and Peas creek Indians, 
are favorable to the proposed emigration. Others it is thought hesitate to 
decide in favor of emigration, because they dread consequences personal to 
themselves, which, as it is said, have been threatened by those the most 
hostile to their removal. 

The principal causes which operate to cherish this feeling, hostile to emi- 
gration, are first, the fear that their reunion with the Creeks, which will 
subject them to the government and control of the Creek national council, 
will be a surrender of a large negro property, now held by those people, to 
the Creeks, as an antagonist claimant. Secondly, the influence which the 
traders, whiskey dealers, and swindlers, hovering on, and all round the 
Indian border, have acquired and exert over the poor deluded Indians. 
These illicit traders calculate upon the improvidence of the Indian. They 
know that he will exchange his last grain of corn for whiskey, and when 
the results of his honest labor are thus exhausted, some of them, as I am 
told, encourage him to steal, by purchasing from him cowhides with the 
brands cut out : and to swell their disgraceful profits, their grasping avarice, 
and the convenience of pond water, tempts them to make two barrels of 
whiskey out of one. They are thus reaping a golden harvest, which will 
be blasted by the removal of the Indians. Hence, their efforts (if any) to 
excite Indian hostility to emigration. 

A third cause of hostility to emigration, is the influence which it is said 
the negroes, the very slaves in the nation, have over the Indians. The 
negroes are more provident than the Indians. They not. only often feed 
the hungry Indian, but having the means, they introduce by stealth into the 
nation, sometimes considerable quantities of whiskey, which enables them, 
while they derive a profit from the sale of it, to gratify the vitiated and 
intemperate appetite of the Indian. 

This gives them a controlling influence over him. They are opposed to 
the emigration of the Indians, because the peculiar character and localities 
of the country, eminently favors their clandestine traffic, and because they 
therefore imagine their condition will not be bettered by the change. 

I am informed there is a settlement on an island not far southeast of 
Charlottes harbor, composed of negroes, Indians, and Spaniards ; a lawless, 
motley crew ; and that there is a similar settlement on the main, in the 
section of country connected with that harbor, in relation to which I enclose 
you the affidavit of John "Winslett. These settlements, it is supposed, are 
composed of runaway slaves and refugees from justice, who may well con- 
sider a maintenance of the Seminole tribe, in its present location, their 
greatest and perhaps only security against apprehension. 

Under such circumstances, it is but reasonable to suppose that they leave 
nothing unattempted to induce the Indians to oppose emigration. They 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



9 



form, perhaps, a medium of intercourse between the clandestine Spanish 
trader, from the island of Cuba, and the Indians, which is calculated to 
give those lawless bands an imposing influence over the Indians. This 
may therefore be considered a fourth cause of the hostility of the Indians 
to emigration. 

The Creek Indian claim to negroes now in the possession of the Semi- 
nole Indians, which is supposed to be the first cause of hostility to the emi- 
gration of the latter tribe, grows out of the treaty of 1821, between the 
United States and the former. The United States, by that treaty, stipulated 
to pay to citizens of Georgia, a sum not exceeding $250,000, (part of the 
consideration for territory ceded by that tribe to the United States,) in satis- 
faction of the claims of those citizens against that tribe, for property destroyed 
and captured or carried away by those Indians, prior to the year 1802. 
These claims were, by commissioners appointed on the part of Georgia 
and the negotiating Indians, referred by agreement to the adjudication of 
the President of the United States ; and the Georgia commissioners relin- 
quished all claims of citizens of Georgia against that tribe.' The Presi- 
dent, in the adjudication of these claims, adopted a rule of construction, 
which rejected all claims founded upon the destruction of property, with 
the claims for the increase of slave property and interest, notwithstanding 
the agreement clearly providing for an allowance of claims for property 
destroyed. Under the operation of the rule of construction alluded to, a 
sum very little exceeding $100,000 was allowed to the Georgia claimants, 
leaving a balance of the "$250,000, of near $150,000. Georgia insists upon 
an allowance of those claims, which, as a Representative of that State. I 
have often urged, and still think were improperly rejected. The Creek 
tribe of Indians have, in form, claimed that balance as due to them, and 
notwithstanding the question is still undecided by Congress, they have an 
agent now in the Seminole country, urging the claim of the Creeks to ne- 
groes, or their decendants, which formed a part of the consideration, for 
which the Creeks consented to pay the $250,000 to the Georgia claimants. 
As it would be difficult, not to say impossible, to prove that the negroes 
claimed by the Creeks, now in possession of the Seminole Indians, are the 
identical negroes, or their decendants, forming in whole or in part, the con- 
sideration for which the allowance of something upwards of $100,000 of 
the fund of $250,000 set apart by the treaty, has "already been made by the 
President, I cannot conceive that the Creeks can be supposed to have a fair 
claim to them. 

It seems to me important, that Congress should decide the question of 
claim made by Georgia; and if the result shall ba (as it is apprehended it 
will be) that the claims of the citizens of Georgia are finally allowed ac- 
cording to the agreement, and the balance of the $250,000 applied, as it 
would be, to their final payment, then the Creek nation might, with some 
grace, prefer a claim to any negroes or their descendants, which formed a 
part of the consideration for which the $250,000 shall have been paid. 

Even in that case the identity of the negroes should be proved ; and still 
there would remain a question to be settled, whether the Creek Indians 
have not, according to their laws or customs, conceded to the present 
holders of those negroes, or their ancestors, the right to possess them. I 
therefore submit to your excellency, not only the importance of some final 
action of Congress upon the question, but the policy of conclusively quiet- 
ing the Creek claim, so as to leave these Indians forever at rest upon the 



10 



[ Doc. No. £71. ] 



subject. Should this be thought expedient, permit me to suggest the pro- 
priety of so connecting the compromise with the emigration of this tribe, 
as to operate as an additional inducement. To counteract the second cause 
of hostility to emigration, and correct the evil thence arising to the Indians, 
I have submitted to the Department of War, the project of a law to be 
passed by the Legislative Council of the Territory ; and if approved, I have 
requested that it be transmitted with such corrections as the Department 
may suggest to your excellency, or myself, in time to be presented to the 
council, at their next annual session : but the arrivals of the mail at the 
agency are so irregular, and so far between, that I, after writing, brought 
the communication with me to this place, as being the plan most likely to 
give it a speedy conveyance. It is hoped, however, that an answer may be 
received in time. There were some two or three prosecutions instituted in 
Alachua court against individuals, charging a violation of a law of the 
Territory, prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors to Indians. On my 
way to this place I arrived at Newnansville on the day that the court should 
have commenced its session, where I remained the greater part of two days, 
in the hope that the court might be induced to dispose of those prosecu- 
tions. I was the more anxious they should be disposed of immediately, be- 
cause 1 found an opinion prevailed, that in the enactment of that law, the 
council transcended its powers, and had trenched upon the rights and 
power of Congress. I therefore considered it all important that the validity 
of the act should be tested; and if sustained, examples under it given to 
the public: if set aside, then look to Congress for efficient restraints upon 
the licentiousness of the white inhabitants upon the Indian border. 

I was constrained to come on to this place, as your instructions required 
me to be here by this day, and the judge not having arrived before I left, I 
am unable to form a conjecture as to the issue of the prosecutions alluded 
to. If the decision of the court invalidates the act, (which I think barely 
possible) the impropriety of a submission to the council of the projet, 
which I have suggested, will no longer be a question. If the decision of 
the court sustains the act, thereby justifying a submission of the new pro- 
ject to the council, that body may hesitate to adopt it. I regret, therefore, 
that I have, inadvertently, left behind me a copy of that new plan which I 
did intend to enclose herewith, for the purpose of submitting to your excel- 
lency, whether or not it will be good policy, in either case, to ask of Con- 
gress the aid of an enactment embodying the restraints provided in that 
plan. Without the aid of some such enactment, it appears to me to be 
utterly impossible to suppress the disgraceful and disastrous traffic com- 
plained of, as there are but few settlers on, or near the Indian boundary, 
and a majority of them engaged in the traffic. On the Indian boundary 
running parallel with the gulf coast, there are no settlements. There are 
none between that boundary and the coast. There are many secluded in- 
lets through that part of the coast into the Indian country, by which the 
lawless trader can, and I am told often does, enter the Indian country. 
Does the agent possess the power to order white persons out of the nation 
for misconduct? If he does, why may he not exert the same power over 
free persons of color, other than Indians and mixed bloods? Have they 
greater rights in the nation than white persons? If not, has the agent the 
power to order such out of the nation for misconduct? If he has, and the 
proposed project should become a law, the third cause of hostility among 
the Indians to emigration, may be thereby removed. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



11 



The removal of the fourth cause, if it does exist, can be effected by 
means which the War and Navy Departments can most aptly suggest. 

I herewith submit to you copies of two receipts given by my predecessor 
to two individuals acknowledging a balance due them respectively, from 
the Government, accompanied by a certificate acknowledging the claim of 
a third, for the hire of horses used in the transportation of the exploring 
delegation, for your instructions and advice. 

About this time a quarter salary falls due to the blacksmith, striker, and 
interpreter. There are no public funds in my control, applicable to that 
object. 

The prosecutions, to which I have alluded above, were instituted by Cap- 
tain William Graham, in command at Camp King, during the absence of 
my predecessor from the agency. The district attorney was then absent 
from the Territory, and Captain Graham (as I think) wisely judging it of 
great importance, that the act of the council should be fairly tested, and, if 
possible, sustained, employed Judge Smith to aid the prosecutions for a fee 
of twenty-five dollars. I can not doubt that the Department will justify 
the course adopted by Captain Graham, by refunding to him that amount. 

By the present post office arrangement the mail is due at Camp King, 
near the agency, once only in two weeks, and sometimes fails. The faci- 
lity of more certain and frequent communication is obviously important. 

[ regret to inform you that old Hicks is dead. He died a few days before 
I left the agency. 

I shall here await your further instructions. 

I have the honor to be, 
Very respectfully, 

Your excellency's ob't serv't, 

WILEY THOMPSON, 
Agent for Florida Indians. 

His Excellency William P. Duval. 



List of copies of letters from Wm. P. Duval to the War Department , 
transmitted to Congress, in ansicer to a call from the House of Repre- 
sentatives, of May 21, 1836. 

Letter dated August 4, 1832. 
« March 3, 1833. 

" November 29, 1833. 

« January 20, 1834. 

« January 26, 1834. 



12 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



Letters from the War Department to Governor Duval, transmitted to 
Congress in answer to a call from the House of Representatives, of 
May 21, 1836. 



WHO FROM. 


DATE. 


Commissioner of Indian affairs - 

Do. do. - 
Acting Secretary of War - 

Do. do. 
Commissioner of Indian affairs - 

Do. do. 

Do. do. ... 
Do. do. - 


June 1, 1S32. 
July 10, 1832. 
July 16, 1832. 
August 21, 1832. 
March 16, 1833. 
February 21, 1S34. 
February 26. 1834. 
March 10, 1834. 



Tallahassee, March 3, 1833. 

Sir : I have the honor to transmit to you a copy of my letter of 4th 
February last, to D. M. Sheffield, Indian sub-agent, and his report on the 
subjects mentioned in my letter to him. The outrage committed by some 
Indians from Alabama, on the Chief William Blount, has arisen from the 
want of a sub-agent on the Appalachicola fiver. Blount and Cochren, two 
chiefs on that river, have sold to the United States the reservations of land 
held by them, ai.d the Indians of their towns have sent out an exploring 
party beyond the Mississippi to select a place for their future settlement ; 
until these people remove, it is absolutely necessary that they and their 
property should be protected from injury. This cannot be effectually 
accomplished unless they have a sub-agent with them. I have recom- 
mended William Pope, Esq. in whom the Indians have entire confidence, 
and, from his standing and intelligence, can afford them ample protection 
until they remove, which maybe this next fall, or the autumn after, at furthest. 
The appointment, therefore, will be but temporary. I have employed the 
United States Attorney, John H. Campbell, Esq. to remove the white 
intruders from the Indian lands on the Appalachicola river, and to prose- 
cute the lawless white men whose names are reported by the sub-agent. 

In directing these measures I trust my conduct will meet the approval of 
the Department, and that the attorney, Mr. Campbell, will receive a fair and 
just compensation for his services. 

I am, <fec. 

WILLIAM P. DUVAL. 

Hon. Elbert Herring, 

Commisioner of the Indian Office. 



Tallahassee. Indian Office, 

February 4, 1833. 

Sir: I have received information that the Indian chief, Colonel Blount, 
residing on the Appalachicola river, has been most cruelly and wantonly 
abused and beaten, and that some lawless white men (took) violent posses- 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



13 



sion of one of the Indian towns, and the land that is reserved on which it 
stands by treaty, for the Indians. 

This outrage cannot be overlooked ; the white men now in possession of 
the Indian reservation mast be removed and punished. You will, there- 
fore, call on John K. Campbell, Esq. United States attorney for the middle 
district of Florida, lor his advice, as to the manner you shall legally proceed 
to have these intruders removed and punished. Take from the United 
States attorney written directions, which you will carefully and strictly 
pursue. The attorney will be allowed, by the Department, a fair and ade- 
quate compensation for his services in advising and prosecuting these 
intruders. You will also inquire into and promptly report to me the facts 
in relation to the cruel treatment of the Indian chief Blount, and by whom 
the outrage was committed ; the names of the white men who took forci- 
ble possession of the Indian houses and lands, and those who now remain 
on the Indian reservation must also be reported. You will further inquire 
if any of the chiefs residing on the Appalachicola river, have aided or 
given countenance to the inhuman treatment of Blount. 

You will, without delay, proceed to execute the duties assigned to you. 

I am, &c. 

WILLIAM P. DUYAL, 

Super. Bid. Affs in Florida. 

David M. Sheffield, Esq. 

Sub-agent for the Florida Indians. 



Tallahassee, February 23, 1833. 
Sir : In compliance with your orders of February 14th, I have been to 
Blount's town, on the Appalachicola river, to inquire into the circumstances 
of the outrage and violence committed upon the person of Col. Blount. &c. 
Blount informed me that he was beaten by a small party of Indians from 
Alabama, who came down to Davy's town, and claimed Cochran's widow 
and her three children as their kindred, and took them away, together with 
their cattle, hogs, &c; they also took with them about twelve of Davy's 
young warriors. 

The white persons trespassing upon the Indian reserve, are Hugh Ro- 
binson, Silas Wood, and Jackson Wood, the former and the latter of whom 
have lately committed violence upon the person of, several Indians belong- 
ing to Blount's town ; and in pursuance to the advice of Jno. K. Campbell, 
Esq. United States Attorney for the middle district of Florida, I have 
caused Col. Blount to go before the presiding justice of Fayette county, 
and make two affidavits ; the first setting forth the facts of the personal 
injury committed, and the other the trespass upon the land within the 
Indian reserve ; upon which affidavits, warrants will issue, and those per- 
sons be held to bail, to appear and answer to the next term of the superior 
court of Fayette county. 

I left notices with the magistrate, to be served by the officer who served 
the warrants, directing those intruders to leave the Indian reserve in one 
day after the service of the notice ; all of which proceedings are most 
respectfully submitted. Your obedient servant, &c. 

D. M. SHEFFIELD, 
Sub-agent for the Florida Indians. 
To his Excellency William P. Duval, 

Superintendant Indian Affairs. 



14 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS REWARD. 

Proclamation, by the Acting Governor of Florida, and Acting Superin- 
tendent of Indian Affairs therein: 

Whereas, Philip Oaks and George Stafford, of Fayette county, stand 
charged on oath, with having, on or about the night of the 30th of April, 
1833, unlawfully trespassed and intruded upon the reserve of Colonel John 
Blunt, head chief of the Indian town lola, reserved to him by the United 
States, in the treaty of Camp Moultrie, and with having burglariously en- 
tered and broke into the house of said Blunt, in said county, and feloni- 
ously took therefrom about seven hundred dollars in bank notes and specie, 
and also goods and wearing apparel of said Blunt, of the value of about 
three hundred dollars. And whereas, said Oaks and Stafford having been 
arrested on said charge, were, on failure to give bail, ordered to be com- 
mitted to jail by a justice of the peace of said county, on said charge, and 
having, while in charge of the officer conducting them to jail, forcibly 
broke and escaped from his custody, and being now running at large, as 
has been represented to me : 

Now I do hereby offer the aforesaid reward of one hundred dollars for 
their apprehension and delivery in any safe jail of this Territory, for trial 
on said charge. And all magistrates, peace officers, and all good citizens, 
are earnestly enjoined to aid in the apprehension and safe keeping of said 
Oaks and Stafford, to answer to the same. 

Given under my hand, at the city of Tallahassee, this first day of June, 
1833, and of the independence of the United States, the fifty-seventh year. 

JAMES D. WESTCOTT, Junr. 
Act. Gov. Act. Superintendent Indian Affairs in Florida 



Tallahassee, Indian Office, 

November 23. 1833. 
Sir : You will proceed from this place to the agency immediately, and 
take possession of the same, and all the books, &c. papers in relation to 
Indian affairs. 

It would be proper to impress on the chiefs the necessity of preparing, on 
their part, to execute the treaty lately made. 

The Indians belonging to Blount's and Davy's towns, who have gone 
down in the Seminole nation, must be ordered back to their respective 
towns to emigrate with their chiefs. 

It will be important that you should attend to the emigration of the In- 
dians residing on the Appalachicola river, and after you have done what the 
situation of the business of the agency demands, you will report yourself 
here to the superintendent by the first of January next, when you will re- 
ceive further instructions. 

When ordered from your agency, your expenses not to exceed $3 per 
day while in actual employment. 

I am, respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WM. P. DUVAL. 

General Wiley Thompson, 

Agent for the Florida Indians. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



15 



Executive Office, 
Tallahassee, November 29, 1833. 

Sir: The communication from the Department, of the 31st ultimo, has 
been received. Having been present at the treaty made with Blount and 
Davy, I recollect that the sum of 300 dollars was stipulated to be paid to 
them, and I believe the commissioner did pay the amount, for the purpose 
of bearing the expense of an exploring party in the fall of 1832, or winter 
of 1833, who undertook to find some other country, out of the limits of the 
United States, as the future residence for the Indians belonging to the 
towns of Blount and Davy, on the Appalachicola river. Since my return 
home, I have been made acquainted, by Mr. Westcott, the acting Governor, 
with the course he pursued in executing the treaty referred to. It appears 
that Blount, in May last, agreed to leave the United States by the 20th of 
July following, but before the time fixed for his departure arrived, he gave 
notice to the acting Governor, that he would not get off as he had promised, 
and set up a number of excuses. 

He alleged, his son and the other Indian boys, at the school in Ken- 
tucky, could not be left behind, that his Indians had run away, and refused 
to go with him, &c. &c. The Department, as I am informed, have been 
fully advised of all the particulars : since then, Mr. Westcott has been con- 
stant in his efforts to get them off, and has, I am happy to learn, finally 
succeeded in getting them again to agree to remove from the country in 
ten days after the arrival of the boys from Kentucky, and I hope that the 
Department will direct that all the boys shall immediately be sent to Appala- 
chicola, Blount's town. Exercising that discretion which was confided to 
him, Mr. Westcott, to promote the emigration of the Indians, after consult- 
ing with the agent, General Thompson, and the sub-agent, Mr. Pope, made 
a further advance to Blount and Davy, of $1,500. I am not aware of any 
thing that can be done, nor can I, at present, suggest any course different 
from that pursued by the acting Governor, and which he submitted to the 
Department as being better calculated to effect the speedy execution of the 
treaty. 

The Legislature of the Territory commences its session the first Monday 
in January next. The Executive will not have it in his power to leave the 
seat of Government for some time, The agent, General Thompson, who 
is now at his post, has received orders to return to this place by the first of 
January next, to attend to the execution of the treaty^ and to enforce such 
orders or instructions as the Department shall give to the superintendent. 
The most prompt attention will be paid to any instructions given by the 
Department, and every thing which the superintendent can do to meet the 
views of the Government will most cheerfully be done. 

I believe every particular in the instructions of the 31st ultimo, has been 
performed by Mr. Westcott before its receipt, but they will again be re- 
peated if necessary. In regard to the robbery of Blount, he, by the advice 
of Mr. Westcott, had previously appointed a Mr. Bell, as his attorney, to 
collect his evidence, &c. which, in addition to that previously transmitted 
by Mr. Westcott, will, I understand, be forwarded to the Department in 
time for the action of Congress. 

I am satisfied, from what Mr. Westcott says, no delay will take place on 
that ground. I trust the arrival of the Indian boys will not be delayed. 



16 [ Doc. No. 271. ] 

I have the honor to enclose a copy of my instructions to the agent, Gen. 
Thompson, of the 23d instant. 

I am, respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WM. P. DUYAL. 

Elbert Herring, Esq. 

Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Washington. 



Tallahassee, Indian Office, 

January 20, 1834. 

Sir : The Indian boy, named in your letter of the 13th ultimo, arrived 
here a few days since by the stage, and the next morning he was sent home 
to his parents, under the care of sub-agent Sheffield. 

The agent. General Thompson, had left this place three days before the 
boy's arrival, with a copy of your letter of the 13th ultimo, to procure the 
Indian boys from the academy in Kentucky. Since the agent's departure 
from Tallahassee, he has written to me, announcing that the other five 
boys had been sent home from Kentucky, and were at the Appalachicola 
towns. 

The person who came with them will be employed to take other boys 
back to Kentucky immediately. When General Thompson returns I will 
draw on the Department for such sum as may be necessary for the clothing 
and expenses of the boys, and the person who shall take them in charge. 
I do not like to draw on the Department, and hope, in future, when funds 
are required here, they will be remitted in a check on the Bank of New 
Orleans. 

I have the honor to transmit, herewith, the report of the agent, General 
Thompson, which deserves the attention of the Department. That there 
are collections of runaway slaves, and Indians who are outlaws from their 
nation, there is no doubt. This was known to me as far back as the year 
1828 ; and in my communications to the then Secretary of War, the sub- 
ject was pressed upon the Department, but no action was ever ordered on it. 

If it is the intention of the Government to remove, under the late treaty, 
a part of the Florida Indians, I would suggest the advantage of ordering a 
respectable military force, for a time, to Cantonment Brook, at Tampa Bay. 
With every precaution and assistance of the Department, the superintendent 
and agent will have much difficulty in cariying the treaty into effect. The 
traders (not licensed) are constantly interfering with the objects and views 
of the Government, using every art to alarm the Indians, and deter them 
from emigrating. The slaves belonging to the Indians have a controlling 
influence over their masters, and are utterly opposed to any change of resi- 
dence. It will be best, at once, to adopt firm and decided measures, such 
ks will demonstrate to the Indians the determination of the Government to 
see the treaty justly and fairly, but promptly executed. This cannot be 
done until the bands of outlaws mentioned in the agent's report are arrested 
and broken up, for so long as they are permitted to remain, every Indian 
who is unwilling to emigrate will seek their protection and support. I trust 
that special instructions will be given to meet any state of things that may 
arise. As the agent is as yet but little known to or acquainted with the 
Indians, they may be instigated to rebel against his advice and authority. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



17 



It may not be improper to remark, that all drafts sent to this superinten- 
dency should be on some bank in New Orleans, as they, from our course of 
commerce, can readily be cashed, when drafts on Mobile, Charleston, and 
Savannah, cannot be disposed of but at a discount, or at the expense of 
sending the agent to these points to receive the money. 

All drafts will, in future, be handed over to the agent, who is the proper 
officer to make the disbursements. 

I am, respectfully, 

Your obedient servant. 

WM.' P. DUVAL. 

Elbert Herring, Esq. 

Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 

The draft received a few days since, to meet the expenses of the 4th 
quarter of the last year, for this superintendency, did not include any al- 
lowance for acting sub-agent Pope, or for the black and gun smith and 
striker, at the agency, or to purchase iron and steel. The amount allowed 
for contingent expenses, will not be sufficient to cover the travelling ex- 
penses, incurred during the last year by the agent and sub-agent, in the 
performance of duties at a distance from their posts. The accounts ac- 
companying the agent's report, and the increased expenses of the officers in 
preparing the Indians to emigrate, (if this should take place,) may require 
the Department to ask for an additional sum for this superintendency. 

WM. P. DUVAL. 



Tallahassee, January 26, 1834. 

Sir: I have the honor herewith to transmit you a report from the Indian 
agent to me, and as it is important the Department should possess accurate 
information in relation to the Indians here, I beg leave to call your atten- 
tion specially to that part of the agent's report in which he speaks of the 
situation and wishes of Econchattamico, one of the Appalachicola chiefs. 
I recommend that he should be removed to the Seminole agency, as he is 
in danger of having property (slaves) stolen from him, if he continues to> 
reside at his present home ; his removal will induce the two remaining 
chiefs to follow him in a short time. I trust that the Department wilt 
enable me to meet the wishes of Econchattamico, and empower me also ta 
embrace the earliest opportunity to close with the two remaining chiefs, if 
they should be willing also to remove to the agency. This would at once 
relieve the Department from much trouble and expense, as these chiefs on 
the Appalachicola river are so far distant from the agency. I have drawn 
a draft at sight on the Secretary of War, in favor of the Cashier of the 
Central Bank of Florida, for six hundred dollars, or rather in favor of 
General Thompson, the agent, who has transferred the draft to the bank. 
I have expressed on the face of the draft that the fund out of which the 
six hundred dollars is to be paid, is that set apart by the treaty of 1823, of 
Camp Moultrie, for educating the Indians. 

Mr. Henderson, the young gentleman who had charge of the Indian 
boys, lately arrived from the Choctaw Academy, will return with eight 
boys by the first opportunity ; he will travel by water. 
2 



38 



[ Doc. No. £71. ] 



1 will again repeat that it is absolutely necessary, if the Government 
contemplate the removal in the present year of that portion of the Semi- 
nole nation at the agency, that have by treaty engaged to emigrate, that 
the most decisive course of action should be adopted. It is all important 
that at first the Indians may know that the Government is determined on 
the prompt execution of the late treaty. I have many reasons to fear that 
unprincipled men have been, and are yet secretly, but actively, engaged in 
preparing the Indians to refuse a performance of their contract. The 
slaves belonging to the Indians must be made to fear for themselves, before 
hey will cease to influence the minds of their masters on this subject. My 
own presence and personal influence may be necessary at the agency, 
and I believe that if I could visit the Indian towns with the agent, and 
introduce him to the most influential Indians, it would be of great service. 

Many of the most popular Indians are mere warriors, yet have greater 
influence with their towns than the chiefs. You may be assured that 
the first step towards the emigration of these Indians must be the breaking 
up of the runaway slaves and outlaw Indians, congregated at two points 
in the peninsula. The Legislative Council will soon bring their labors to 
a close, when I shall be ready to render any service that the Secretary of 
"War may deem necessary. 

I am, respectfully, 

Your obedient servant. 

WILLIAM P. DUVAL. 

Elbert Herring, Esq. 

Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 



Department of War, 
Office Indian Affairs, February 26, 1834. 
Sir : Your letter of the 24th instant, addressed to the Secretary of W*ir 7 
lias been referred to this office, and in compliance with your request a copy 
=-of Mr. Mattoirs letter, enclosed therein, has been sent to the superintendent 
of Indian affairs, at Tallahassee, with directions to investigate the case, and 
."report the facts to the Department. 

You shall be apprised of the result as soon as his report is received. 
I have the honor to be, 

Your obedient servant, 

ELBERT HERRING. 

Eon. J. M. White, Ho. of Reps. U. S. 



Department of War, 
Office Indian Affairs, March 26, 1835. 
Sir: In answer to your letter of 22d instant, addressed to the President 
*of the United States, and referred to this office, I am instructed to state 
that as there appears to be no legal prohibition to the Seminole Indians 
seliino; slaves owned by them, the Department deems it unnecessary to in- 
terfere in the matter, and give them permission to exercise a right which 
^eems already to belong to them. 

I am. sir, your obt. servant, 

ELBERT HERRING. 

Gen. K. K. Call. Tallahassee, Florida. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



19 



Extract of a letter from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, to Ja??ies 
D. Westcott, jr. dated October 2, 1833. 

" Your letter of the 1st. ultimo, with its several enclosures, has been 
received. 

" According to your recommendation, and conformably to the former 
practice of the Department in similar cases, you will cause the examination 
and decision of the conflicting title to the negro slaves, spoken of in your 
letter, to be referred to the Judge of the District of West Florida." 



War Department, 
Office Indian Affairs, Oct. 28, 1835. 
Sir: I enclose a copy of a letter from the Chief Walker to General 
Thompson, complaining of an outrage committed or attempted on his pro- 
perty, and asking the interference of the Government for his protection. 
The case seems to be one that requires the interposition of the Govern- 
ment, and I have therefore to request that you will take such steps as may 
seem best calculated to bring the perpetrator or perpetrators to justice. 
General Thompson has been advised of this determination, and requested 
to communicate with you on the subject, and to furnish you with such 
information with regard to witnesses, (fee. as he may be able to obtain. I 
will thank you to advise me from time to time of the proceedings you may 
institute in the case. 

I have. &c. 

ELBERT HERRING. 

To George Walker, Esq. 

United States District Attorney, Pensacola, Florida. 



Department of War, March 8, 1834. 
Sir : I have had the honor to receive your letter, transmitting a memo- 
rial to the President, from a number of citizens of Florida, complaining of 
the conduct of the Seminole Indians. 

The President has returned the memorial to this Department, with 
instructions to give the necessary directions to Governor Duval, to have 
effectual measures taken to put a stop to these proceedings, and such 
instructions have, accordingly been given. 

Yery respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

LEWIS CASS. 

To the Hon. J. M. White, 

House of Representatives, U. S. 



Department of War, 
Office Indian Affairs, June 4, 1832. 
Sir : The agent of John Winslett, attorney for the Creek nation, has 
presented a demand on their behalf, that certain negroes alleged by them 
to be now in the possession of the Seminoles, should be restored to them 



20 



[ Doc. No. £71. ] 



as the rightful owners. The ground of these demands is, that the value 
of the negroes claimed was paid by the United States to citizens of 
Georgia, proving in themselves a right of property, out of the money 
allowed the Creek nation in the treaty of January 8, 1821, as a considera- 
tion for the lands which they then ceded. It would seem that the demand 
is well founded in equity, if the above facts are correctly stated ; but it is 
not competent for the Department, under any existing laws, to enforce satis- 
faction from the Seminoles. To gratify the claimants, you will investigate 
their demands, and if their statements are confirmed, you will endeavor to 
persuade the Seminoles to meet them fairly and promptly, but abstain from 
every thing indicative of a disposition to coerce them. No expense must 
accrue to the United States from any measures you may take upon this 
subject. Should you find the discussion of this matter likely to produce 
unkind feeling, and thus interfere with the principal object of reuniting 
the two tribes, you will endeavor to obtain the consent of the Seminoles to 
refer the decision to the commissioners who will be appointed under the 
late treaty, to liquidate ail claims for negroes stolen and property destroyed. 

I am. sir, &c. 

ELBERT HERRING. 

To Major John Phagan, Indian Agent, $*c. 



Seminole Agency, September 8, 1835. 
Sir : Your letter of the 12th ultimo has been received. 
I informed Col. Gad Humphreys that I had submitted the question of 
claim, in contest between him and the Indian woman Culekeechowa, to 
negroes, a part of which is in the possession of the latter, to the Secretary 
of War for his advice and instructions. 

He has left Florida for some point at the north. I do not know to what 
point I should enclose to him a copy of my letter to the Department, as 
directed by you to be furnished to him. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Mr. C. A. Harris, 

Acting Secretary of War. 



Seminole Agency, July 19, 1835. 

Sir : Colonel Gad Humphreys claims two negro boys or men now in 
the Seminole nation, and in the possession of an Indian woman by the 
name of Culekeechowa, who urges that they are her rightful property. 

During my absence from the agency last summer, these negroes were 
recovered by Humphreys, but ran away and returned to the nation again. 
During the session of the council in October last, I demanded these 
negroes of the chiefs : they said the negroes were the property of Culekee- 
chowa, and that she had never consented to the sale of them. I replied, 
that as they had once been given up, I did not feel authorized to go behind 
that surrender for the purpose of investigating the right of property, and 
jhat they must be given up again. The negroes have not been given up, 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



21 



and the chiefs protest against a surrender of them : they, with several of 
the intelligent negroes of the nation, give the following history of Hum- 
phreys' claim : "A negro girl, by the name of Caty, was owned by the 
mother of Culekeechowa. The mother gave Caty to the daughter (Cule- 
keechowa) while yet a girl. The negro girl Caty took a husband named 
Mungo, by whom she had four children — Sally, Nancy, Jim, and Israel. 
That before flags were exchanged under the treaty with Spain, during a 
time of great scarcity among the Indians, Mungo, the husband of the negro 
woman Caty, went to the trading establishment of a man by the name of 
Dexter, at a place called Yolusia, on the St. Johns river, for the purpose of 
obtaining subsistence, where he- remained some time, and to which place 
he finally lured his wife, the said Caty, and her children. That while 
there, the brother and sister of the mother of the said Culekeechowa went 
to Volusia, where the said Dexter induced them to sell said negroes to him, 
under pretence that they had the right to do so, and that he paid in whiskey 
and goods a trifling consideration, of which the real owner, Culekeechowa, 
never received any part, but called upon the said Humphreys, who was 
then agent, to cause said negroes to be returned to her, which he promised 
to do. That, subsequently, said negroes were exposed to sale at St. Augus- 
tine as the property of said Dexter. The agent attended the sale for the 
professed purpose of claiming the negroes for the said Culekeechowa. 
That the agent returned with the negroes, and stated, that, to prevent their 
being carried off to Charleston, he was obliged to purchase them himself. 
That when the boys, Jim and Israel, grew up, and became acquainted with 
the history of the case, they returned to their Indian owner." 

The woman, Caty, with her two daughters and their children, are in the 
possession of the said Humphreys. The Indians say that their consent to 
a surrender of the negroes was extorted from them. 

The chiefs insist upon me to lay the whole case before you, and appeal 
to you for protection and justice to Culekeechowa. They say, that when 
by any means a negro or other property belonging to the whites gets into 
the possession of the Indians, they have to give it up, or the value of it is 
deducted from their annuity ; and that, therefore, when any of the Indian's 
property is improperly retained by a white man, they ought to find protec- 
tion and redress somewhere, inasmuch as their dependent condition, and 
their treaties, leave them powerless ; and, in conclusion, they say, that the 
only source to which they can look is through their agent to the Govern- 
ment. 

It is my duty, perhaps, to state, that the swindling practices of Dexter, in 
his intercourse with the Indians, are, in this section of the country, quite 
notorious. I believe the President has a knowledge of Dexter's character, 
obtained while in military command in this country. 

I respectfully submit the case to you, and ask your advice and instruc- 
tions. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON.. 

Hon. Lewis Cass. 



22 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



Seminole Agency, March 25, 1835. 

Sir r I have just received your letter of the 2d instant, relative to a claim 
represented by Major A. Clark. 

Daring the latter part of the past year Major Clark informed me, by let- 
ter, that he was agent for a Mrs. Hanna, who claims certain negroes now 
in possession of a Seminole Indian woman, and that evidence establishing 
the claim had been submitted, and supposed to be in this office. I made a 
diligent search among the files of the office, and found nothing on the sub- 
ject except two or three letters addressed by Major Clark to my predecessor, 
of which I promptly apprised Major Clark, and stated to him at the same 
time, that it would be my duty, and, consequently, my disposition, to act 
promptly upon the subject whenever the claim, with accompanying evidence, 
should be submitted to me. 

Why Major Clark has, under such circumstances, thought proper to 
-«iake application to the Department, which implies a complaint against me, 
I cannot conceive. 

I have not yet seen any evidence on the subject of this claim except that 
of which you have a copy enclosed. This was furnished to me in support 
of the Indian claimant's right to hold the property. 

The facts of the case, so far as they have come to my knowledge, appear 
to be, that a man, by the name of Reading Blunt, sold Sarah, the negro 
woman, (whom, with her increase, Mrs. Hanna now claims,) to an Indian 
for a valuable consideration. This man Blunt was the father of the claim- 
ant, Mrs. Hanna. It has been represented to me, verbally, that Mrs. Hanna 
claims under her father, the said Reading Blunt, by deed of gift. The 
affiant, Edward M. Wanton, has been uniformly represented to me as a 
man entitled to credit on his oath. The statement of an elderly negro man, 
belonging to the Seminole Indians, corroborates the affidavit of Mr. Wanton. 
If evidence should not be adduced to destroy the force of Wanton's affidavit 
and the negro's statement, then, while I shall be bound to admit that Mrs. 
Hanna, on the exhibition of a legally executed deed of gift from her father, 
of a date anterior to the sale of the negro to the Indian owner, will be legally 
entitled to the property, I shall be decidedly of opinion that she has no equi- 
table right to it. 

I shall at all times be ready to afford promptly to Major Clark, or any 
other claimant, any facilities in my power to the prosecution of a fair and 
equitable claim. 

Bat if the investigation of this claim shall result in the establishment of 
the facts represented in Edward M. Wanton's affidavit, I am sure the De- 
partment will not require of me an exertion of such influence as I may 
have over the Indians, to induce a surrender of the property in question. 
I am, sir, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant. 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Elbert Herring, Esq. 



Florida Territory, Alachua county : 

Before me, Charles Waldron, a Justice of Peace in and for said county, 
personally appeared Edward M. Wanton, of said county, who, being duly 
sworn, deposeth and saith, that about twenty-five years ago a man by the 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



name of Reading Blunt, came to Picolata, East Florida, and sold Sarah, 
negro woman, to a member of the late chief Bowleg's family, who, I think, 
gave forty head of beef steers for the said negro woman Sarah. At that 
period it was usual for the Indians to rate all negroes on sale at this rate of 
forty head of beef cattle, and that the size and value of the cattle was made 
to correspond with the size, age, sex, and value of the slave. That the 
largest beef cattle then rated at twenty dollars per head, The negro woman 
Sarah was grown. 

Deponent, further saith, that Mrs. Hanna, who is now claiming said. 
Sarah and her issue, he has always understood was the daughter of said 
Reading Blunt, who sold said slave. 

EDW. M. WANTON. 

Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 14th January, 1835. 

CHARLES WALDRON, J. P. 

I have baen acquainted with Edward M. Wanton for four years, and I 
consider him entitled to full credit on his oath. 

CHARLES WALDRON, J. P. 

Fort King, March 31, 1835. 
I have been acquainted with Edward Wanton for the last twelve years, 
raidonsider him entitled to full credit on his oath. 

D. L. CLINCH, 
Brevet Brig, General, U. S. Army 



Tallahassee, May 23, 1836. 

Sir: I herewith transmit you a petition of the Indian Chief Conchatta- 
mico, to be laid before Congress should you consider that necessary. 1 

Taking forcibly the slaves of this chief, after those men had created an 
alarm among the white inhabitants, which resulted in disarming the Indians, 
was an outrage well calculated to rouse them to hostility. This alarm was 
concerted by these violators of all law, solely with the view of obtaining, 
without the danger of resistance, the slaves of the chief. I believe it is 
admitted by the inhabitants of Florida who know this chief, that an Indian 
of more honesty and generous feeling towards our citizens is not to be met 
with in any tribe in the United States. 

While I acted as the Governor of Florida, the claim, under the shadow 
of which Robinson and Welbourne and others have taken the slaves, was. 
submitted to my investigation, and after a full examination I was satisfied 
-the slaves justly belonged to the chief, and, of course, the claim of the ap- 
plicants was rejected. I then informed the claimants they could bring their 
suit for the slaves, and if the court should decide they were entitled to re- 
cover them, they should be delivered up. 

Some suit or process was instituted by the claimants in the superior court 
of Jackson county, before the honorable Judge Cammeron, when finding 
from the evidence taken in the cause, they must be defeated, the plan was 
resorted to of alarming our citizens, who, for their own safety (as hostilities 
then existed with the Seminoles) disarmed the Indians to accomplish the 
capture of the slaves. I have been informed and believe the report is cor- 
rect, that Robinson and Welbourne, and others concerned in this outrage* 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



liave speculated largely in the purchase of Indian reservations in the State 
of Alabama, and I entertain but little doubt, that great frauds have been 
"practised on the Indians in their purchases. 

It might be proper for the Department to have a full examination made 
of their conduct and purchases before they receive confirmation. 

I have no expectation the slaves referred to in the petition will ever be 
obtained, as I take it for granted that they have been carried to a great 
distance and sold. The chief is an old man, and now destitute of assist- 
ance to cultivate his land, and must, with his family, suffer want, if some 
adequate remuneration for his loss is not speedily made to him. Colonel 
Richard C. Allen and myself, have undertaken, at the solicitation of Con- 
-chattamico, to place his case before your Department, with the expectation 
that you will either have it acted on by the Department, or, if you deem it 
proper, to submit the subject to the action of Congress. Please to acknow- 
ledge the receipt of the petition, and apprise us of the direction and disposi- 
tion you may make of it. 

Your answer may be directed to Duval and Allen, Tallahassee. 
Respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM P. DUVAL. 

Hon. Lewis Cass, 

Secretary of War. 



April 2, 1836. 

The petition of E. Conchattamico, an Indian chief residing on the Appala- 
chicola river in the Territory of Flo?*ida, to the Honorable the Senate 
and House of Representatives of the United States in Congress 
assembled : 

Your petitioner states that he is one of the chiefs who entered into a treaty 
with the United States in the year 1833, at Camp Moultrie, in Florida, by 
which the land he now resides on was secured to him, and the said treaty 
gauranteed to him his rights and property, which the United States promised 
to protect and secure to him. 

Your petitioner states, that about the 1st of March, 1836, while acting 
peaceably, and avoiding all offence towards his white brethren — the 
Indian war now prevailing in Florida, occasioned to him and his people 
great uneasiness and alarm — evil disposed white men who, as it appears, 
were industriously working on the fears and apprehension of the good citi- 
zens of Florida, to cause distrust and suspicion to attach to your petitioner 
and his innocent people, of bad faith, and treachery, pretending your peti- 
tioner and his few warriors were ready to join the hostile tribes of Indians 
now at war with the United States. These unjust and groundless accusa- 
tions alarming your petitioner's white neighbors, were made by a set of men, 
for the sole purpose of getting your petitioner and his people disarmed for 
their own bad and selfish objects, and more particularly that they might, 
without danger in his defenceless condition, (for your petitioner did actually 
surrender his arms to quiet the apprehension of his white neighbors, and. 
did also send some of his active warriors to aid the United States against 
the lawless Seminoles) seize upon and take away his slaves, of great value.. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



25 



and to the number of twenty ; all of whom were likely young negroes but 
two or three, who are hearty and strong, aged from forty to fifty years, 
Your petitioner states, that seven of these are likely young men, that they 
would command now $1,000 each, and that the whole twenty slaves would 
readily bring at least $15,000. Your petitioner states a certain Alexander 
J. Robinson, and one Col. Willburn, residing in the State of Georgia, forci- 
bly took, and carried away the following slaves: Henry, aged twenty-five 
years: Robertson, twenty-four years of age; Dacio, a man, aged thirty, 
Fanny, aged thirty ; Betsey, a girl, twelve years old ; Buttler, a negro boy 3 
eight years old ; Daniel, a boy, two years old ; also Tom, aged forty-five ; 
Wanda, aged forty, and an infant child; Rubin, aged thirty; Nanie, aged 
five years ; Hannah, aged forty ; Jenny, twenty-one ; Tenor, fourteen ; Sal- 
low, a boy, aged fourteen ; Mary Ann, aged five years ; Moses, aged twen- 
ty-eight; Toney, aged twenty-six, and woman, called Anluza, aged forty- 
five ; all the slaves were the property of your petitioner, most of whom were 
born in his possession ; and the elder ones have been in his possession for 
more than twenty years. Your petitioner states, that his said slaves have 
been forcibly taken out of this Territory, by the said Robinson and Well- 
burn, and others, whose names are unknown to your petitioner, and he 
fears those his slaves have sold, so that he cannot recover them. Your 
petitioner further states, that the grand jury of Jackson county, in this 
Territory, at the present March term of the superior court, have returned 
several indictments against the said Robinson, Willburn and others, as true 
bills, for robbery and larceny ; but as all the offenders have run off into the 
States, there is but little hope that they will be arrested and brought to pun- 
ishment. Your petitioner, therefore, prays that Congress will indemnify 
him for the loss of his slaves, and for the injury he has sustained ; and that 
a sum sufficient to cover his loss may be appropriated by Congress, to be 
paid your petitioner, according to the report which may be made by the 
honorable judge of the western district of Florida, whom he prays may 
be authorized to take testimony, and assertain the amount or the value of 
said slaves ; and your petitioner, as in duty bound, will ever pray, &c. 

his 

E. CONCH ATT A x MICO. 

mark. 

Witness, 

John Bird, Justice of the peace for Jackson county. 



The affidavit of William S. Pope, Esq. residing in the county of Jack r 
son, and Territory of Florida, taken before John Bird, Esq. a justice of the 
peace for the county aforesaid. This affiant states, on oath, that he is ac- 
quainted with the Indian chief, Conchattamico, residing in the county of 
Jackson, and Territory of Florida, and on the river Chattahoochie ; that 
this affiant at one time acted as sub-agent for the Indian department, and 
verily believes that said Indian chief, Conchattamico, is an honest man, 
and as orderly a citizen as any in the county ; that he is well acquainted 
with his circumstances and his property, and knows his slaves, named in 
his petition to Congress, with the exception of two or three infants. This 
affiant says, from his own knowledge, that the slaves named in said peti- 
tion, have, for many years, been in the possession of said Indian chief, and 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 

considered as liis property; that the same have been, as he believes, forci- 
bly taken, by lawless persons, from his possession, and carried without the 
jurisdiction of this Territory; that he believes that said slaves would readily 
sell for at least from twelve to fifteen thousand dollars. This affiant further 
states, that the Indians were disarmed, under the pretence that they would, 
or might, join the hostile tribes, now at war in this Territory, 'and the 
arms were brought, as this affiant understood, in part, at the house of H. 
Douglass, and the arms of the other Indian town below, on the river, and 
deposited in the house of this affiant, who considered it, at least, unneces- 
sary and illegal, and he redelivered the arms to the Indians as they called 
for them: and that it was while the Indians were thus defenceless, the 
slaves, referred to in said petition, were forcibly taken, as this affiant be- 
lieves, from the possession of said Chief Conchattamico. This affiant 
states that he believes, from the best information that eleven of the warriors 
of the chief aforesaid, had actually gone to join our troops against the hos- 
tile Indians; not that this affiant saw them actually march off, but he does 
not doubt the facts, as it is notorious throughout this neighborhood. 

In witness hereof I have hereto subscribed my name this 2d day of 
April. 1S36. 

WM. S. POPE. 

I, John Bird, a justice of the peace, now in commission in the county of 
Jackson, and Territory of Florida, do hereby certify, that William S. Pope, 
Esq. signed and made oath before me to the within affidavit. Witness my 
hand and seal this 2d dav of April. 1836. 

JOHN BIRD, J. P. [seal.] 



Seminole Agency, Sept. 23, 1835. 
I herewith enclose to you a letter from John Walker, who succeeded his 
father, the late Walker Pechassie, as chief of a band of Indians on Appala- 
chicola. The letter was, I perceive, written by a gentleman who 
resides within three miles of the reserve, and consequently had an opportu- 
nity to inform himself as to the correctness of the statement made in the" 
letter. I also enclose to you a copy of my letter addressed to the United 
States attorney for the western district of Florida, on the same subject. I 
am not informed whether Mr. Walker instituted an inquiry into the matter 
or not. but fear he did not, as the outrage has been renewed. The reserve . 
is two hundred and forty miles from this place, consequently I cannot afford 
those Indians any protection against the threatened outrage. 
Yen/ respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Mr. Elbert Herring. 



Aspalaga. July 28, 1835. 

Dear Sir : I am induced to write you in consequence of the depreda- I 
lions making, and attempted to be made on my farm, by a company of I 
men, negro stealers, some of whom are from Columbus, and have connected I 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 27 

themselves with " Brown and Douglas." It is reported and believed by- 
all the white people around here, that a large number of them will very 
shortly come down here and attempt to take off Billy, Jim, Rose, and her 
family, and others. These same men have been engaged in the same busi- 
ness up in the "Creek nation." I should like to have your advice how I 
should act. I dislike to make any trouble, or to have any difficulty with 
any of the white people, but if they will tresspass on my premises and on 
my rights, I must defend myself in the best way I can. If they do make 
this attempt, and there is no doubt but they will, they must bear the conse- 
quences. But is there no civil law that will protect me? Are the free^ 
negroes and the negroes belonging in this town to be stolen away publicly ; 
in the face of all law and justice, carried off and sold to fill the pockets of 
these worse than "land pirates ?" Certainly not. I know you will not suf- 
fer it. Please direct me how to act in this matter. Douglas and this com- 
pany hired a man, who has two large trained dogs for the purpose, to come 
down and take Billy. The man came, but seeing he could do nothing 
alone, has gone off somewhere, probably to recruit. He is from Mobile, and 
fellows for a livelihood, catching runaway negroes with these large dogs. 
Your attention to this matter, by writing to the Governor, &c. will be long 
remembered by 

Your friend, 

JOHN WALKER, his + mark. 

Chief Emachitochustern. 
Test, JIM WALKER, his + mark, 

Interpreter. 

Gen. Thompson. 



Seminole Agency, Nov. 24, 1834. 

Sir: A certain negro, man named Bill, Billy, or William, the son of a 
negjo woman named Rose, who is the wife of Sam Factor, all of them 
belonging to the chief Walker Pichassie's band, on the Appalachicola river, 
is claimed by one Levin Brown, a citizen of Jackson county, Florida, living 
on or near the Chattahoochee river. This claim, as the sub-agent, Mr. Wm. 
S. Pope informed me, was submitted to Governor Duval, Superintendent 
of Indian Affairs, in Florida, who made a verbal decision, that the negro 
in question, is not the property of the said Levin Brown. Not long since 
I was credibly informed that Isaac Brown, the brother of the said Levin, 
and living in the same neighborhood, went to Walker Pichassie's reserve, 
with a party of men, and attempted to take the negro by force, and was 
prevented by force, This entry on the reserve, by force, with an unlawful 
intention, was a violation of law, and of the provisions of the treaties under 
which the Indians hold that reserve. 

I have therefore to request that you will institute a prosecution against 
Isaac Brown for that unlawful act. A Mr. Rankin, who is overseer for 
Major Coe, on the Appalachicola river, adjoining or near the reserve, 
witnessed the outrage. Mr. Pope will testify as to the decision 
made by Governor Duval. A prompt prosecution of the delinquent is 
alone calculated to afford those Indians protection against a repetition of 



28 



[ Doc. No. 271. | 



the outrage. If Brown was aggrieved by the decision, he had the right of 
appeal to the Secretary of War. 

Very respectfully, 

Your humble servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON, 
Agent for the Florida Indians. 
Mr. Walker, U. S. Atty. West. Dis. Florida. 



Washington, March 22, 1835. 

Sir : I have received letters from some of my friends at Tallahassee to- 
day, requesting me, if possible, to obtain permission from the Government 
to purchase the Indian right to certain negroes residing among the Semi- 
noles, and supposed to belong to the Indians. If there is no objection to 
such a purchase, and I presume there can be none, there is no measure 
which would contribute so much as this to the removal of the Indians. 
The negroes have great influence among the Indians, they are better agri- 
culturists, and inferior huntsmen to the Indians, and are violently opposed 
to leaving the country. It the Indians are permitted to convert them into 
specie, one great obstacle in the way of removal may be overcome. 

I have, therefore, to request that Robert W. W. Williams, and William 
Baily, may be authorized, under the approval of the agent, to make a pur- 
chase of one hundred and fifty of these negroes. 

I shall be greatly obliged by having the permission sought for, forwarded 
to me at Tallahassee, for which place I set out to-morrow. 

Yery respectfully, 

Your obedient servant. 

R. K. CALL. 

To the President of the United States. 

The Commissioner of Indian affairs, will look into the law upon this sub- 
ject, and let me know whether permission can be granted. • 

L. C. 

I find no prohibition in the act of the 30th of June, 1834, which will 
prevent the giving of the permission solicited. 

B. F. B. Atty Gen. 

Endorsement of the President, referred to the Secretary of War. — 
There can be no reason for not giving a permission to purchase their slaves 
as it appears to me, directing the agent to see that they obtain a fair price 
for them, 

A. J. 



Tallahassee, Indian Office, 

March 12, 1834. 

Sir : I had the honor, by the last mail, to receive your letter of the 26th 
ultimo, with a copy of a letter addressed by Lewis Mattoir to the Hon. J. 
M. White. The Indian agent, General Wiley Thompson is now absent, 
on his way to New Orleans to pay off the chiefs Blunt and Davy, and 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



29 



their bands who are on their route to their new residence. The agent 
having been designated by the Department, heretofore, to examine into all 
claims for slaves in the Seminole nation that may be demanded by our citi- 
zens, it will not be possible for him, I fear, after his return from New 
Orleans, to investigate the claim, and report the same in time for the action 
of Congress at its present session. I could not perform the duty, was I 
authorized to do so, unless 1 went to the agency, which is about 150 miles 
fFom this point, and how long it would require to investigate the claim I 
could not tell, as I am unacquainted with the facts. As soon as the agent 
returns from New Orleans, he will be instructed to attend to the case as 
the Department requires. 

Respectfully, your obedient servant, 

' WM. P. DUVAL. 

Elbert Herring, Esq. 

Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 



Washington, February 28, 1835. ». 
Sir : I have seen Major Archibald Clark since I had the honor of an 
interview with you yesterday morning, in relation to the claim of a lady 
against the Indians for negro property that he was representing, and 
informed him of the result of our interview ; he desired me to request, that 
yoia would address a letter to General Thompson, agent of Indian affairs 
in Florida, directing him to give to the said Mr. Clarke, or the claimant, the 
necessary facilities in having restored to the said claimant the said pro- 
perty, upon the necessary production of proof on investigation of the right 
to the property before the proper authorities; any directions you may think 
proper and consistent with duty to give, will be thankfully received by 
Major Clark, and may be communicated to me. 

I have the honor to be, 
Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

K. L. GAMBLE. 

To the Hon. Lewis Cass. 



Seminole Agency, December 2, 1834. 
Sir : I have this moment discovered that I neglected to enclose the copy 
of Mr. Richards's letter alluded to in my letter addressed to you of this 
date. 

The mail left three hours ago, and I therefore send an express in pursuit 
of it. I herewith enclose a copy of Mr. Richards's letter, and add that 
should it be thought advisable for me to visit the Indians on the Appalachi- 
cola immediately, it will bring me in the immediate neighborhood of the 
two late sub-agents, Mr. Sheffield and Mr. Pope, and the late interpreter 
Mr. Richards, to each of whom balances are due. In that case it is de- 
sirable that I should be furnished with funds to pay them, otherwise it 
will be somewhat tedious and difficult to close their accounts, as the nearest 
of them to this place, is more than one hundred and ninety miles. 
Very respectfully, sir, your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Elbert Herring, Esq. 



30 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



Judge Pope's, November 4, 1834. 
Dear Sir : I had a long talk with old Jim last night, and he is fully hot 
to go, and says if you could come up here in a short time, that you and 
me and him can get all of the Indians to go. Jim and Rose and Sam 
Factor are very much alarmed about old Winslett's claim to Rose and her 
family, which is the cause of their being so willing to go. There is no 
doubt if you can come but we can get them to go. 

STEPHEN RICHARDS. 

Wiley Thompson, Esq. 



War Department, March 7, 1834. 
Sir : The enclosed petition, addressed to you, has been received at this 
Department. I have the honor to transmit it agreeably to its direction, 
and to await your order on the subject to which it refers. 

Yery respectfully, 

Your most obedient servant, 

LEWIS CASS. 

To the President 

of the United States. 



Territory of Florida, Alachua County, 

January, 1834. 

To his Excellency Andrew Jackson, 

President of the United States : 
The undersigned inhabitants of Florida, residing in that part of the 
Territory which borders on, and is in the vicinity of the boundaries of the 
Seminole nation, beg leave to address you as the head of the Government 
ot the United States, and as the source to which they may appeal with a. 
confident expectation that their appeal will receive the attention to which 
its importance, not only to them, but to Florida at large, evidently enti- 
tles it. 

We bear in cherished and grateful remembrance the numerous manifes- 
tations of your kind and paternal feelings towards our infant country, and 
we recur with sentiments of peculiar gratification to your efforts to remove 
from among us a species of population which, though limited as to num- 
bers, is, nevertheless, owing to its wandering and unsettled character, most 
seriously and effectually retarding the prosperity of our Territory, by 
spreading themselves over a large and fair portion of it, which they regu- 
larly do, in open and flagrant violation of sacred compact, for they do not 
even affect to respect their pledge to confine themselves within the limits 
of territory reserved to them by the treaty of 1823 ; on the contrary, they 
-are to be found at all times, and in large parties of almost entire tribes, 
encamped in the neighborhood of the white settlements, to the great annoy- 
ance and injury of the settlers, whose fields are pillaged, and their stocks 
of every description subjected to the constant and heavy depredations of these 
hungry freebooters; nor are these the only evils which are experienced, and 
grow out of the presence among us of a people like them, acknowledging 



[ Dec. No. 271. J 



31? 



no moral obligation, who entertain no respect for the rights of their neigh- 
bors, and who will yield to no argument but force. It is hardly necessary 
to say that we allude to the Seminole Indians. 

While this lawless and indomitable people continue where they now are r 
the owners of slaves in our Territory, and even in the States contiguous, 
cannot, for a moment, in any thing like security, enjoy the possession of 
this description of property. Does a negro become tired of the service of his 
owner, he has only to flee to the Indian country, where he will find ample 
safety against pursuit. It is a fact, whicfy if not fully susceptible of proof, 
is, notwithstanding, and upon good ground, firmly believed, that there is at 
this time living under the protection of the Seminole Indians, a large num- 
ber, probably more than one hundred slaves, who have absconded from 
their masters in the neighboring States, and in Florida, since the treaty of 
Camp Moultrie. Within a few weeks, several parties are known to have 
sought and found shelter in the nation, where they continne secure against 
every effort of their owners to recover them ; and this, too, in total and 
gross disregard of a solemn promise (see article seventh, treaty of Camp 
Moultrie aforesaid) on the part of the Indians, that runaway negroes should 
not be allowed shelter in their nation, and that should such take refuge 
there, the best efforts of the nation should be used for their prompt appre- 
hension and surrender. They seem, in general, hardly to think it neces- 
sary, when called upon to perform their promise upon this subject, to 
admit the fact of their having made such a promise ; and even when they 
do acknowledge it, it is no evidence of their intention to observe good 
faith in relation to it ; on the contrary, it is an undoubted truth, that, in 
some cases, when they have been called upon to surrender absconding 
slaves, they have connived with, and, through the instrumentality of the 
negroes living among them, aided such' slaves to select new and more secure 
places of refuge. There are, it is believed, more than five hundred 
Metroes residing with the Seminole Indians, four-fifths of whom are runa- 
ways, or descendants of runaways. To these all the fastnesses and posi- 
tions of security in the nation are thoroughly known. 

With the sympathy (the natural result of a parity of interest, a similarity 
of condition) which they must be supposed to feel for the refugee, backed by 
the countenance of their red protectors, and possessing the knowledge of 
country before adverted to, it is evident that the absconding slave, who 
succeeds in reaching the Indian territory, is in absolute safety, and may 
laugh to scorn all exertions for his apprehension. It is perfectly obvious, 
that during the existence of such a state of things, the interests of this fer- 
tile and promising section of Florida cannot flourish, and we are con- 
strained to repeat, that there is no rational prospect of a change for the 
better, so long as the Indians are suffered to remain in their present loca- 
tion. 

It had been fondly hoped, after the conclusion of the treaty of Payne s 
Landing, that our difficulties, so far as they depended upon this wretched 
and misguided people, would speedily draw to a close ; and that the return 
of the deputation, sent by them to examine, the country west of the Missis- 
sippi, would be at once followed by the commencement of preparations for 
the emigration of the whole nation. But in this we have been most sadly 
disappointed ; and so far from their exhibiting a disposition to comply with- 
the terms of that treaty, and enter upon the promised removal, they 
demonstrate, not only by their manner, but by their open declarations also^ 



32 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



that they do not intend their agreement to leave Florida shall have upon 
them any binding effect. Since the return of the deputation aforesaid, the 
conduct of the Indians has been even more insufferably outrageous than 
before. They have not scrupled to seize in open day, and in the very en- 
closures of the inhabitants, their cattle and hogs, and these, as if confident 
of security, or desperately regardless of consequences, they butcher without 
removing them, in some instances, out of sight of the dwellings of their 
owners. In two or more cases they have aimed and snapped their rifles at 
our fellow-citizens, for no other reason than an attempt on the part of those 
citizens to protect their property. Their insolence and recklessness of 
feeling have in fact reached such a pitch, that they appear no longer to 
think it necessary to disguise, and they have been heard to declare in the 
most unqualified terms, their contempt for the Government and its laws ; 
to denounce their indignation, and threaten the country with bloodshed, 
should any measure be adopted to restrain and control them. 

This most unpropitious and alarming condition of their country, the 
undersigned respectfully conceive, demands the immediate and efficient 
action of the Government, and they will not permit themselves to doubt 
that the necessary interposition will be promptly awarded. 

We have the honor to be, 
Yery respectfully, 

Your obedient servants, 
John Lugs 
Francis Mathues 
David Gillett 
Stephen Blocker 
James Edwards 
WilMam Farquharson 
A. Sylvester 
Jonas Ellis 
Benjamin Horn 



James Horn 
John Pisnese 
M. Garrason 
Joseph Butler 
Wyatt O. Allen 
Samuel Harville 
Alfred West 
John Jinnins 
Richard R. Crum 
William Crum 
Wiley Brooks 
James McHaden 
David D. Crum 
Willoby Hodge 
Charles Waldron 
Warren Harville 
J. Elliott Harville 
James Lanier 
Robert Lanier 
Isaac Lanier 
Hardy Lanier 
John Lanier 
Horace Smith 
Elias Knight 
John Standley, jr. 
Arnold Thigpin 
William Horn 
Henry Horn 
George W. Rawles 
Henry A. Moore 



Brillon Knight 
Abraham Crum 
James Verhain 
. Jehu Mizelle 
John Hamilton 
D. L. Wilson 
Andrew Cruize 
Andrew Crum 
John J. Crum 
Bennet M. Dell 
G. Humphreys 
Geo. Conter 
Gabriel Priest 
Granville Priest 
William Priest 
Ezra Priest 
G. W. Priest 
Geo. Mills 
Horace Smith 
George Evander 



E. Suggs 



[ Doc. No. 271, ] 33 

M. Johnson J. Tyner 

Edward M. Wanton John Curry 

Anthony Levy Job Suggs 

S. Johnson John M. Stafford 

Haste Johnson William Parsons 

John Fleming John Dixon 

Samuel Piles C. Dixon 

William Piles Lew, Williams 

Samuel Piles, jr. Lewis Thigpin 

Thomas Piles C. A. Brush 

D. Levy A. Daniel 

John Crawford W. Daniel 

John Pace Wm. Daniel 

John Walerston E. Daniel 

Thomas Ham E. Daniel, jr. 

M. Savery Geo. W. Weeks 

W. Terades Wm. Edwards. 

J. G. Tyner 

The Secretary of War will direct the Governor of Florida to make 
inquiry into the truth of the charges against the Seminole Indians, and if 
found correct, forthwith to inform them that speedy punishment awaits the 
repetition of the outrages committed, and demand for the owners speedy 
remuneration for the property taken, and forthwith to prepare to remove to 
the west of the Mississippi, and join the Creeks now there, or immediate 
steps would be taken to enforce the treaty. 

A. J. 

February 24, 1834. 
Mr. W"hite, of Florida, submits the enclosed letter to the honorable Se- 
cretary of War, and requests that an order be given to the agent to inquire 
into the affair. 

January 3, 1824. 

Dear Sir: Mrs. Dewees, my mother-in-law, and Col. J, Dell's sister, 
lost a number of negroes by their being run off during the troubles of 1812. 
Since the change of flags they have been seen among the Seminole Indians, 
in East Florida, who have screened them, and prevented their being re- 
covered for Mrs. Dewees. 

Now, sir, it would appear to me that those Indians should be made to pay 
for those negroes out of their annuity, or some other way, on its being 
proved that they have been detained by them, before some suitable tribunal. 
Congress can alone, I believe, furnish a relief, by creating such a tribunal 
for that purpose, or in some other manner. There are a great portion of 
your constituents similarly situated. 

If your were to exert yourself for their relief and obtainment of just 
rights, you would receive from them their sincerest thanks and warmest 
gratitude, and particularly from 

Yours, most truly and respectfully, 

LEWIS MATT AIR. 

The Hon. J. M. White. 

Be so kind as to answer this, directed to Dell's post office, Columbia 
county, East Florida. L. M. 

3 



34 



f Doc. No. 271. ] 



Pensacola. West Florida,, 

April 12, 1836. 

Sir : In November, 1833, James D. Westcott, Esq. then acting Governor 
of this Territory, communicated to me a letter from the Department of 
War, directing that a dispute which had arisen between a Mr. John Milton 
and Econchattamicco, the chief of one of the Indian towns on the Appala- 
chicola river r respecting some negro slaves then in the possession of that 
chief, should be referred to me for my examination and decision. 

Early in December, of the same year, I issued commissions for the pur- 
pose of taking testimony, to a commissioner residing at Fort Mitchell, to 
another residing at Camp King, to another residing at Tampa Bay, and to 
another residing near the Indian towns on the Appalachicola. Since that 
time I have issued several other commissions, at the instance of Milton, for 
obtaining more testimony, and am now in possession of a mass of evidence 
on the matters in controversy. 

Milton had commenced a civil action against Econchattamicco, by the 
way of attachment, in the superior court of Jackson county, in the district 
of West Florida, prior to the reference of the disputed matters to me by 
order of the War Department. I would not suffer him to proceed in that 
suit, until I had examined the case. At the last term of Jackson superior 
court, he came into court, by his attorney, and dismissed his attachment 
and announced his intention to withdraw from any controversy with the 
Indians about the slaves. 

The truth is, as I understand, that Milton has sold his claim to the 
slaves to other persons, who have tortuously obtained possession of them, 
and removed them beyond the limits of this Territory. Upon this point, I 
have directed M. Walker^ the district attorney, to give you all the informa- 
tion he possesses, and to send you copies of such papers as will elucidate 
the matter. 

Herewith you will receive the opinion which I have formed, upon a 
view of all the evidence I was able to obtain, in the case referred to me. 
If it be desirable, I can transmit to the Department the evidence upon 
which my opinion is founded. 

Having had this case under me for more than two years, and it being 
one involving much labor, not appertaining to my regular official duties, 
I expect that Government will pay me for my services a sum right and 
proper. The case was before me, under the reference of the Secretary of 
War, for two years and a half. I do not know what Government has been 
in the habit of allowing for such services, but I am willing to receive whal 
has been hitherto given in like cases. 

I have the honor to be, 
Most respectfully, 

Your very obedient servant, 

J. A. CAMERON, 
Judge Dist. West Florida, 

Hon. Lewis Cass, 

Secretary of War, 



[ Doc. No. 271. j 



35 



Pensacola, West Florida, 

April 12, 1831. 

In the case of John Milton, a citizen of Georgia, against Econchattamicco, 
an Indian, referred to the examination and decision of the judge of the 
United States for the district of West Florida, by order of the War Depart- 
ment. 

The claimant, John Milton, claims several negro slaves, in the posses- 
sion of Econchattamicco, under a bill of sale from Hawkin, an Arkansas 
Creek Indian. 

Hawkin claims under a bill of sale from Cocha-hajo-chopco, otherwise 
known and called Wamelika. 

Wamelika claimed the slaves in question as his, as being one of the sons 
of Fuchegee, the original owner of them. 

Econchattamicco's title to the slaves rests upon an Indian law of in- 
heritance. 

The bill of sale from Cocha-hajo-chopco or Wamelika to Hawkins, is 
dated July 13, 1833, and conveys, by name, Ave negro men slaves, and 
five negro female slaves "and their increase;" the consideration is $3,000. 
The grantor does not write, but his mark is made, together with a seal,, 
and the deed purports to have been made before two witnesses, one of 
whom proves its execution, before a justice of the peace for Jackson county, 
on the 2d of September, of the same year. 

The bill of sale, for the same ten slaves, from Hawkins to the claimant 
Milton, is made about the same time, and for the like consideration money. 

Falehigee, the father of Wamalika, lived and died in Florida, near 
Mount Vernon, on the Appal achicola. He was the owner of Sally, Han- 
nah, Tyler, and Tom, negro slaves, from whom the slaves in question 
descended. He died somewhere between forty and fifty years ago, leaving 
four children (of whom Wamelika was the second) and a brother named 
Will, and a sister named Sary, who also was the mother of Econchatta- 
micco. 

Falehigee, when about to die, gave his negroes to his brother Will, 
and desired that, when Will died, the negroes should belong to Econchalta- 
micco, the son of Sdry, the sister of Falihegec and Will. 

When Will died, the negroes were taken possession of by Econchatta- 
micco, more than thirty years ago, and he has held them in possession ever 
since. From the whole of the testimony, (and there is no variance in it,) 
it appears that, prior to the termination of the late war between the United 
States and Great Britain, the universal law of inheritance among the Creek 
Indians was, that brothers first inherited, in preference to children and all 
others, and then the sons of sisters. 

After the close of the late war, Mcintosh, the Indian chief, procured the 
Indian law of inheritance to be altered, and under the new laiv, children 
inherited in preference to brothers or nephews. Immediately on the altera- 
tion of the law, the alteration was made known to the lower Indians, and 
was agreed to in council. 

Upon the death of Falehigee, Will took possession of his slaves, under 
the laws of inheritance then in force among the Indians ; he being the 
brother of Falehigee. Upon the death of Will, his nephew, Econchatta- 
micco, the son of Sary, who was sister both to Will and Falehigee, took 
the negroes into possession under the existing Indian law of inheritance, 
and long prior to the alteration of that law. 



36 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



The reason of the old Indian law of inheritance, by which brothers and 
sons of sisters inherited in preference to children, seems to have arisen 
from the belief entertained by the Indians, that a brother, or a sistefs son. 
would be more likely to have the same blood with the deceased flowing 
in their veins, than even the children of the wife of the deceased, although 
those children might be reputed to be the children of the deceased. 

As then, the law of inheritance, by which negroes descended to brothers 
or sisters' sons in preference to children, prevailed among the Indians at 
the time of the death of Falehegee : as the same law of inheritance pre- 
vailed at the time of the death of Will, and as the same law prevailed when 
the slaves came into the possession of Econchattamicco, and for several 
years thereafter, I am of opinion that none of the children of Falehegee 
were entitled to his slaves, but that they lawfully descended first to his 
brother Will, and, afterwards to his nephew, Econchattamicco, and that 
Wamelika had no right, power, or authority to sell them to Hawkins. 

Even if the Indian law of inheritance had been altered before the death 
of Falehegee, (whereas it was not altered until many years after his death, 
say thirty years,) still, as he left four children, there was no authority in 
one of them, Wamelika, to sell and dispose of his slaves, without the con- 
currence of his brothers and sister. 

But the bill of sale from Wamelika to Hawkins, is made more than forty 
years after the death of Falehegee, the ancestor, and more than thirty years 
after the slaves had been in the quiet and undisputed possession of Econ- 
chattamicco, under the acknowledged Indian law of descent. 

Besides, in a certificate which Wamelika himself made, on the 8th of 
October, 1833, before a justice of the peace,, and two other witnesses, he 
says, that any title he should have made to Benjamin Hawkins, or any 
other person, is of no account, as he, Wamelika, had no right to sell the 
negroes in dispute ; that he never had any right to the negroes ; that the 
title has been in Econchattamicco for something like thirty years ; that if 
he had supposed that they were his property, he should have taken them 
long before this time. He further says, that he has never received any 
value from Benjamin Hawkins, or from any other person, for these slaves. 

I am of opinion, therefore, that John Milton, the claimant, has no shadow 
of title to the negro slaves in question, but that they all rightfully belong to 
Econchattamicco. 

J. A. CAMERON, 
Judge Dist. West Florida, 



Pensacola, April 21, 1836. 

Sir : I deem it my duty to inform you of a recent occurrence within 
this district, between a number of white men and the Indians residing on 
the Appalachicola river, and of the steps I have taken in relation to it. 

Some two or three years since an effort was made by a certain John 
Milton and others, by a civil process from a court of this Territory, to pos* 
sess themselves of a number of negroes claimed, and in the possession of 
Econchatimico, an Indian Chief, residing within the town or reservation 
secured to him and his band by the treaty^ known as the Treaty of Camp 
Moultrie. The acting Indian agent thought it his duty to take means to 
protect the Indians, and applied to the Governor of the Territory for his 
aid and authority to effect that object. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



37 



The Governor opened a correspondence with the Secretary of War on 
the subject, which resulted in instructions from the Secretary that a judi- 
cial proceeding should be instituted before the judge of this district. 

That proceeding was accordingly instituted, and how it resulted, as well 
as that previously instituted by the persons claiming adversely to the In- 
dians, you will, I presume, soon be apprised of by tbe Hon John A Came- 
ron. I will but say in relation to it, that the claimants, by a declaration 
in court, abandoned the investigation. 

Some short time since the Indians, by robbery and larceny on the part of 
the persons alluded to, were divested of the whole of the negroes ; and the 
steps I deemed it my duty to take, will be indicated to you by the enclosed 
documents. 

, About the same time, and by the same persons, an Indian chief called 
Walker or Walk-up-chasee, residing on a reservation on the same river, 
was robbed of all the negroes he. had, some six in number. 

The whole of the persons named in the indictments reside out of this 
Territory in the States of Georgia and Alabama, and I have reason to be- 
lieve their arrest can never be effected in the Territory. With other docu- 
ments I enclose you Judge Cameron's certificate, in relation to my compen- 
sation, which if approved by you. please transfer to the proper officer. 

I have the honor to be, respectfully, 

GEO. WALKER, U. S. Attorney. 

Hon. Lewis Cass, 

Secretary of War. 



United States of America, District of West Florida: 

In the case of John Milton against Econchatamico, an Indian, contesting 
the title to a number of negro slaves, referred to the decision of the judge 
of the western district of Florida, by the Secretary of War, I certify that 
George Walker, Esq. the Attorney of the United States for said district, is 
entitled to an extra compensation of two hundred dollars. 

The case is one, involving a very considerable amount of property, and 
much investigation into the nature and effect of the Indian laws on the 
subject of descents. In this investigation, a considerable body of testimony 
has been taken, at the expense of much time and labor. 

Jackson Superior Court, March term. 1836. 

J. A. CAMERON, 
Judge D. W.F. 



United States of America, to wit : 

District of West Florida, 
Superior Court for the county of Jackson, March Term, 1836. 

The grand jurors of the United States summoned and sworn in and for 
the District of West Florida, at a superior court holden for the county ot 
Jackson, in said district, on the third Monday in the month of March, in 
the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six, upon their 



3S 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



oath present that Alexander Robinson, late of the District, and county 
aforesaid, (yeoman) Hezekiel Douglass, late of the same, (yeoman) Carlton 
"Wellborn, late of the same, (yeoman) Ellis Wood, late of the same, (yeo- 
man;) William H. Pike, late of the same, (yeoman.) Hardy Powell, late of 
the same, (yeoman.) John Deese. late of the same, (yeoman.) William 
Chambers. Late of the same, (yeoman.) and W illiam Durham, late of the 
same, (yeoman.) on the tenth day of March, in the year of our Lord one 
thousand eight hundred and thirty-six. in the district and county aforesaid, 
one woman of the name of Wonder, a negro and slave, of the value of five 
hundred dollars. lawful money of the United States, one infant child of 
said Wonda, of the value of fifty dollars : one Rubin, a negro man and 
slave of the value of eight hundred dollars ; one Nannie, a negro woman 
and slave, of the value of four hundred dollars ; one Hannah, a negro wo- 
man and slave, of the value of five hundred dollars ; one Jenny, a negro 
woman and slave, of the value of four hundred dollars: one Tenar. a negro 
woman and slave, of the value of three hundred dollars : one Mary Ann. 
a negro woman and slave, of the value of four hundred dollars; one Moses, 
a negro man and slave, of the value of eight hundred dollars : one Alara, 
a negro woman and slave, of the value of five hundred dollars : one Robi- 
son, a negro man and slave, of the value of five hundred dollars; one ne- 
gro woman of the name of Fanny, a slave, of the value of five hundred 
dollars : one Betsy, a negro woman and slave, of the value of four hun- 
dred dollars : one Butler, a negro boy and slave, of the value of three hun- 
dred dollars ; and one Daniel, a negro toy, of the value of two hundred 
dollars ; of the property, gocds and chattels of one Econchatimico, an In- 
dian Chief, of a tribe or band of Florida Indians, then and there being 
found, feloniously, from the town, settlement and reservation, secured to 
the said Econchatimico. and his tribe or band, by the treaty done at camp, 
on Moultrie creek, in the Territory of Florida, between the United States 
and the Florida tribes of Indians, concluded on the eighteenth day of Sep- 
tember, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three, did steal, take and 
carry away, against the form of the statutes of the United States, in such 
case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the United 
States of America. 

GEO. WALKER, 
United States Attorney. 

Endorsed, a true bill. 

W. S. MOORING. Foreman. 

Filed 31st March. 1S36. 

SEARS BRYAN, Clk, 

A true copv — Test : 

SEARS BRYAN, Clk. 

United States of America : 

District of West Florida. 
Superior Court for the county of Jackson, March Term. 1S36. 

The grand jurors of the United States, summoned and sworn in and for 
the District of West Florida, at a superior court holden for the county of 
Jackson, in said district, on the third Monday in the month of March, in 
the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six, upon 
their oath present, that Alexander Robison, late of the district and county 



I Doc. No. 271. ] 



39 



aforesaid, (yeoman,) Hezekiah Douglass, late of the same, (yeoman,) 
Carlton Wellborn, late of 'the same, (yeoman,) Ellis Yfood, late of the 
same, (yeoman,) Hardy Powel, late of the same, (yeoman,) John Deese, 
late of the same, (yeoman,) William Chambers, late of the same, (yeo- 
man,) and William Durham, late of the same, (yeoman,) on the tenth day 
of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty- 
six, with force and arms, in and upon one Eeonchatimico, an Indian Chief, 
of a band or tribe of the Seminole nation, in the peace of God and the 
United States, then and there being, feloniously did make an assault, and 
him the said Econchattimico, in bodily fear and danger of his life, then 
and there feloniously did put, and Wonda, a negro woman and slave, of 
the value of five hundred dollars, lawful money of the United States ; one 
infant child of said Wonda, of the value of fifty dollars • one Rubin, a 
negro man and slave, of the value of eight hundred dollars ; one Nannie, 
a negro woman and slave, of the value of four hundred dollars ; one Han- 
nah, a negro woman and slave, of the value of five hundred dollars ; one 
Jenny, a negro waman and slave, of the value of four hundred dollars ; 
one Tenar, a negro woman, and slave, of the value of three hundred dol- 
lars ; one Mary Ann, a negro woman and slave, of the value of four hun- 
dred dollars ; one Moses, a negro man and slave, of the value of eight hun- 
dred dollars ; one Alara, a negro woman and slave, of the value of five 
hundred dollars ; one Robison, a negro man and slave, of the value of five 
hundred dollars ; one negro woman of the name of Fanny, a slave, of the 
value of five hundred dollars, one Betsy, a negro woman and slave, of the 
value of four hundred dollars, one Butler, a negro boy and slave, of the 
value of three hundred dollars ; and one Daniel, a negro boy and slave, of 
the value of two hundred dollars ; of the property, goods and chattels of 
the said Eeonchatimico, from the person and possession, and against the 
will of the said Eeonchatimico, and from the town, settlement and reserva- 
tion, secured to the said Eeonchatimico and his tribe or band, by the treaty 
done at camp, on Moultrie creek, in the Territory of Florida, between the 
United States and the Florida tribe of Indians, concluded on the eighteenth 
day of September, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three, and then 
and there, feloniously and violently did steal, take and carry away, against 
the form of the statute of the United States, in such case made and pro- 
vided, and against the peace and dignity of the United States. 

GEORGE WALKER, 

U. S. Attorney. 

Endorsed. A true bill. 

W. S. MOORING, Foreman. 

Filed 31st of March, 1836. 

Test: SEARS BRYAN, CIL 

A true copy. Test : 

SEARS. BRYAN, Ok. 



Seminole Agency, July 20, 1835. 
Sir : I recently received a letter from Major A. Clark, accompanied by 
some documents relative to Mrs. Hannay's claim for negroes now in this 
nation ; among them there is the copy of a letter from Thomas L. McKin- 
ney to Colonel Gad Humphreys, Indian agent, dated the 8th of March. 



40 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



1828, in the following words : " The Secretary of War directs that yoti 
forthwith deliver to Mary Hannay > widow, or her agent, the slaves claimed 
by her, and take a bond imposing the obligation on her to abide by such 
decision as it may be esteemed proper to seek, in testing the right of 
ownership in the property in question." 

Major Clark, in his recent letter to me, apprises me that he is ready to 
comply with the above recited requisition. No evidence in support of Mrs. 
Hannay^s claim has as yet been submitted to me. I am therefore still of 
the opinion, relying on the affidavit of old Mr. Wanton, (whose credibility 
is supported by General Clinch) which I enclosed to you on the 25th of 
March last, and the statement of Wan, an old intelligent negro man of this 
nation, that Mrs. Hannay has no equitable right to the negroes in question. 

But on the supposition that she has a just right to them, I submit to you 
whether this claim is not provided for by the treaty of Payne's Landing 
entered into between the United States and the Seminole Indians, in 1832. 
The sixth article of that treaty reads as follows : 

" The Seminoles being anxious to be relieved from repeated vexatious 
demands for slaves and other property alleged to have been stolen and des- 
troyed by them, so that they may remove unembarrassed to their new 
homes the United States stipulated to have the same properly investigated., 
and to liquidate such as may be satisfactorily established, provided the 
amount does not exceed seven thousand (7,000) dollars." 

I. have stated in reply to Major Clark, that I consider Mrs. Hannay's 
claim as subject to adjustment under the above mentioned provision ; and 
if I am correct, and the claim should be established, Mrs. Hannay can claim 
a pro rata allowance out of the seven thousand dollars. I informed him 
that I would submit this question to the Department, which would give 
him in the mean time an opportunity to recover or renew the documentary 
evidence which he says was heretofore submitted in support of the claim, 
but as yet has not been found. 

I ask for your advice and your decision of the above question. 

Respectfully, your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Elbert Herring, Esq. 



Seminole Agency, June 17, 1835. 

Your letter of the 22d ultimo has been received, and I must, in reply? 
be permitted to express, very respectfully, my great regret that the Depart- 
ment and myself should differ so widely on a subject which I verily be- 
lieve so deeply involves principles of humanity, justice, and an enterprise 
for the success of which, standing in the relation which I do to the Govern- 
ment and these people, I am more responsible, perhaps, than any other 
person. 

It is your privilege to decide, and my duty to submit. Yet if the De- 
partment could be satisfied that the undeniable abhorrence of the negroes in 
this nation to the idea of being transferred from their present state of ease 
and comparative freedom, to sugar and cotton plantations, under the con- 
trol of severe task-masters, had been made to subserve the Views of the 
Government, by inducing the negroes to exert their known influence over 
the Indians, through pledges made to them, accompanied by assurances 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



41 



that removal west would, more than any thing else, serve to secure the ex- 
isting relations between them and the Indians ; then surely the Depart- 
ment, instead of classing them with the Indian skins and furs, would re- 
quire a punctilious redemption of those pledges. 

With regard to the opinion expressed in your letter, "that the opportu- 
nity to sell their slaves will be an inducement for the Seminoles to remove." 
That " their resources will be augmented, and they will not, upon their 
arrival west, have in their possession a species of property which, as 
stated in thereport of yourself, Lieut. Harris and Gen. Clinch would excite 
the cupidity of the Creeks and be wrested from them by their superior 
numbers and strength." I beg leave to remark, that I have not heard of a 
solitary instance of an Indian's desiring the privilege to sell. On the con- 
trary, there is (I am informed) a law existing among them which prohibits 
the sale of slaves by them. There have been, as I am told, occasional viola- 
tion of this law. prior to my administration of this office, through bribery 
and corruption. It is said that whiskey has been made a prime agent in 
the accomplishment of such violations, and that individual negroes have 
been bribed to operate upon Indians, and Indians upon negroes. Com- 
plaints have been made to me of individual Indians having carried the 
slaves of their relations beyond the Indian boundary and sold them to the 
whites, without the knowledge of the owners. 

The allusion in the report referred to, is to the claim of the Creeks 
to negroes now in the possession of these Indians, under the treaty of 
1821, with the former, by which the United States stipulated to pay to the 
citizens of Georgia such claims as might be established by them against the 
Creeks, for depredations committed prior to the act of Congress of 1802, re- 
gulating trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes ; provided it should 
not exceed the sum of $250 ; 000, as part consideration for territory 
ceded by that treaty. A portion of that sum has been paid to the Georgia 
claimants, and the Creeks allege that negroes now in the possession of 
the Seminoles, or their progenitors, formed a part of the consideration for 
which that portion was so paid. This claim of the Creeks is represented 
here by John Winslett, as their agent, accredited by the War Department 
Should the negroes, in contest, be sold by the Seminoles to the whites, it is 
true that they will not, upon their arrival west, have in their possession a 
species of property which would excite the cupidity of the Creeks, and be 
wrested from them by their superior numbers and strength ; but on the 
supposition that the claim of the Creeks is just, is it not a question of some 
importance, how far will the United States be justified in authorizing- 
such a disposition of that property as will inevitably defeat the claim of 
the Creeks ? This claim cannot now be correctly adjusted, because^ so far 
as I am informed, the claims of the citizens of Georgia are not conclusively 
disposed of. Were it practicable to adjust the Creek claim now, I think it 
would be inexpedient to attempt it, as I apprehend it would tend to irritate 
these people, and thereby embarrass our operations in removing them. 

The remark in your letter that " it is not to be presumed the condition of 
these slaves would be worse than that of others in the same section of 
country," is true ; yet you will agree with me that the same remark would 
be applicable to myself, or any other individual in the United States, as we 
should, if subjected to slavery, be in the precise condition of our fellow 
slaves. The change in the condition of the Indian negro would not be so 
great as it would in our case, yet any one at all acquainted with the con 



42 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



dition of the negro, as connected with his Indian owner here, could not 
fail to admit that the change with him, would "be oppressively great. 
The concluding paragraph of your letter is in the following words: 

" In regard to the report which you state has been spread that it was 
your object, by refusing to sanction sales, to secure these negroes for your- 
self and your friends, the obvious remark is, that it will be effectually 
silenced by your publication of the views of the Department on this sub- 
ject, and interposing no further obstacle to the purchase of these slaves, 
than may be necessary to secure to their owners a fair equivalent." 

Any one who had not read my letter would, (as it seems to me) on read- 
ing this paragraph, come at once to the conclusion, that in consequence of 
my refusal to permit or sanction a purchase of these negroes from the In- 
dians, a report had been circulated among the whites that my object was to 
secure these negroes for myself and my friends. The sentence in my 
letter, to which this is intended to be a reply, is as follows: " To counteract 
my efforts, it is now whispered among the malcontent Indians, that my object 
is to secure the negroes to myself or other white men." I said nothing in 
my letter about a report being spread that it was my object, by refusing to 
sanction sales, to secure these negroes to myself and my friends. I have 
heard no such a report, nor can I believe that any one could have the un- 
blushing effrontery to propagate such an one. My remark was simply that 
" to counteract my efforts, it is now whispered among the malcontent Vi- 
dians that my object is to secure the negroes for myself or other white men? 
and not that a report ivas spread that it was my object to secure these 
negroes for myself and my friends. 

When the chiefs, friendly to emigration, signed an acknowledgment of 
the validity of their treaties, I called upon them for a census of their people, 
respectively. One of the sub-chiefs, who signed the acknowledgement, 
owns seventy-four slaves. When he was about to give me a census of his 
people, some of the refractory Indians embarrassed him, by whispering 
among or to his negroes, that my object, in getting their names and number, 
was to secure them for myself or other white men. The negroes became 
alarmed at the idea of getting into the hands of the whites, and attempted 
to deter their owner from giving their names and number, which occa- 
sioned me considerable trouble in the accomplishment of the object. While 
I was conflicting with this difficulty, the party of whites to which I alluded, 
arrived at tie agency with the letter from the War Department to Gen. 
Call. If the. object of their visit had then been made known, the conse- 
quences would, as you may readily perceive, have been exceedingly em- 
barrassing. 

I have no idea that any of the Indians will consent to sell their slaves, unless 
they should be operated on by the use of improper means. My fears are, that if 
the attempt to purchase should be authorized, it will bring into the nation a 
crowd of " speculators," some of whom might resort to the use of improper 
means to effect their object, and thereby greatly embarrass our operations ; 
for I presume, that permission to purchase, would be a license to the civi- 
lized community to come in for that purpose, and that a door would then 
be opened for every species and variety of corrupt speculations. 

Yielding to the suggestions of some of the most intelligent officers at 
Fort King, as well as to the force of my own conviction of its propriety, I 
venture to suspend further operations upon the subject, until Capt. Thrus- 
ton, of the army, who has just started on a visit to Washington, can give 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



43 



to the President, from his own personal observation, a more comprehensive 
and correct view of the state of things here, than I can possibly give in 
writing. 

Do me the favor to afford me early information of the result. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Mr. C. A. Harris, 

Acting Secretary of War. 



Washington, Jane 5, 1834. 

Sir : In forming our treaty of the 14th February, 1833, and which was 
ratified the 7th ot April last, it was stipulated that the Seminole Indians in 
Florida was to be admitted amongst us. A treaty made with them stipu- 
lates that a particular part of our country shall be set apart for their occu- 
pancy. These Indians are a part of our nation, and should possess amongst 
us no separate and distinct interest : strife and difficulty, which we desire 
to avoid, will be the consequence. Our great object and wish are, that we 
may become a united people : already we have been divided too long, and 
trouble has been the consequence. If our country is to be thus parcelled 
out, we cannot hope that our ancient friendship will be continued. We ask, 
therefore, that you will please consider our difficulties, and relieve us of 
them by proposing a new convention with the Florida Indians. The in- 
convenience and difficulty we refer to may be prevented by their agreeing 
to change a provision of their treaty, which gives them a separate and dis- 
tinct portion of our lands. This the Creek Indians west consider oppressive 
and unjust towards them ; and in the perseverance of it, difficulties may, 
and will be occasioned. We remain in full assurance that our great father 
will do us justice. 

ROLY McINTOSH, his x mark. 
FOSHUTCHEE MICCO, his x mark. 
CHILLY McINTOSH. 
K. LEWIS. 

Hon. Lewis Cass, 

Secretary of War, 



Washington, June 6, 1834. 

Sir : We have received the reply of Mr. E. Herring to an application of 
ours of the 5th instant. 

We did not ask, as the commissioner seemed to suppose, that our nation 
should be released from the treaty of February, 1833. We know that the 
President possesses no such power. What we meant to say, was, that our 
people did not understand, nor was it so explained, that our country should 
be divided into separate divisions and clans ; but that the Seminole Indians 
should be admitted to a participation in the country secured to us west. 
If we are to live there as one people, we maybe happy; if to be cut up 
into separate clans, then shall we be unhappy. Our desire is, that we may 
be a united, not a divided, people ; but divided we must be, if one portion 



44 



[ Doc. No. 271. "J 



shall come into our country and form an independent and distinct commu- 
nity. All we desired, therefore, was, that authority might be given to some 
confidential agent of the Government to see and explain to the Florida In- 
dians before their removal, our opinions and fears on this subject, that some 
change might be made in their treaty arrangement, not doubting, when the 
subject was explained, that the whole matter would be honorably arranged. 
We yet hope and request that the Secretary of War will see the necessity 
and importance of such a course, and seek to relieve it, or otherwise we 
take occasion again to express our fears that discontent will arise, and that 
the Creeks west of the Mississippi will again become a disquieted and dis- 
satisfied people. 

We are respectfully, sir, 

Your friends and brothers, 

HOLY McINTOSH. his x mark. 

FOSHUTCHEE MICO, his x mark, 

CHILLY McINTOSH. 

K. LEWIS. 
To the Hon. the Secretary op War. 



Department of War, 

January 30, 1832. 
Sir : It has been represented to this Department, that the Florida Indians 
are in a suffering condition, unable to provide the necessary food for them- 
selves. And it has been further represented, that they would be willing to 
enter into a negotiation for the relinquishment of their reservations in Flo- 
rida, and for their removal to the Creek country west of the Mississippi, 
where, as a constituent portion of the Creek trine, they are entitled to a 
residence. 

For the purpose of effecting these objects, you are appointed a commis- 
sioner, and you will be pleased, without delay, to meet the Seminole Indians, 
and to inform them that the United States are ready to accept a relinquish- 
ment of their lands in Florida, and to remove them to the Creek country, 
west of the Mississippi ; and this arrangement you may complete upon the 
following terms : 

1. The Florida Indians are to proceed and join their countrymen, the 
Creeks, west of the Mississippi, and to become a constituent portion of that 
tribe. This removal to take place during the present year, if possible, but 
at any rate during the next, and to be made at the expense of the United 
States. 

2. The Florida Indians shall receive from the United States, sufficient 
supplies of corn, and beef or pork, for their support for the term of one 
year, after their arrival at their new home. 

3. Reservations may be granted, if necessary, upon the principles con- 
tained in the 14th article of the Choctaw treaty, concluded September 2^ 
1830, a copy of which is enclosed for your information. 

4. Cattle may be taken, as provided in the 16th article of the same treaty, 
and all improvements may be paid for, which add real value to the land. 

5. All former annuities to be paid to the Creek nation, west of the Mis- 
sissippi ; and an annuity not exceeding $4,000, or as much less as they 
may be content to take, to be added to the amount now payable to the Creeks, 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



45 



it being the object of the Government to ensure a complete union between 
the Florida Indians and their original stock, the Creeks ; but no annuity 
to be extended beyond the term of twenty years. 

6. Reasonable provision may be made for the various objects stated ill 
the 20th article of the Choctaw treaty, should the Florida Indians desire 
it ; but the school fund must not exceed $3,000 for twenty years. It is 
believed, however, that the situation of the Florida Indians does not require 
many of these expenditures, nor in any case must they exceed one-fifth of 
the amount allowed to the Choctaws, that being about the proportion of the 
numbers of these two tribes. 

Should you feel yourself at a loss, the provisions of the Choctaw treaty 
will be a guide for you, so far as the same may be applicable to the condi- 
tion of the Florida Indians. It is to be observed, however, that all the 
stipulations which look to an independent situation for" the Choctaws, west 
of the Mississippi, can have no relation to the Florida Indians, who will 
become associated with the Creeks. And under any circumstances, I con- 
sider the 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 21, and 22d sections of the 
Choctaw treaty inapplicable or unnecessary, in consequence of the pecu- 
liar situation of the Florida Indians. 

You are authorized to issue the necessary provisions to the Indians while 
they are assembled together, at your request. Your vouchers for the expen- 
diture, will be the original bills of parcels, and regular returns, day by day, 
of the issues, certified by yourself, and attested by the person who may 
make them. 

Should your negociation be successful, and should the situation of these 
Indians require relief, you may supply them daily with one pound of fresh 
beef, or three quarters of a pound of salt pork for each individual, and one 
bushel of corn for every forty persons, for a term not exceeding three 
months. For the payment of the expenses incurred for this object, you 
will provide by an article of the treaty, and the purchases will be made 
with an understanding that they are not to be paid for till an appropriation 
shall be made. You will report in detail all the necessary facts, and will 
account for these issues as above prescribed. 

Such assistance as may be necessary, you are at liberty to procure, and 
to allow a reasonable compensation. But I recommend to you strict eco- 
nomy in all your expenditures, and also great caution in the selection of 
persons to aid you. They should be men of character and established 
probity. 

Your own compensation will be eight dollars per day, while engaged in 
holding the councils, and eight dollars for every twenty miles you may 
travel, to and from the place of meeting. You may appoint a secretary, 
who will be allowed five dollars a day, and five dollars for every twenty 
miles travel. Your account and his will be certified upon honor. 

Bills for all your expenditures in holding the treaty, may be drawn upon 
this Department, and will be paid upon sight. Regular vouchers will be 
taken and immediately transmitted to the Second Auditor of the Treasury 
for settlement. 

In the whole course of your negociation, be pleased to take particular 
care that the Indians understand your offers and objects. Explain the 
whole matter fully and plainly. Let them see all the disadvantages of their 
present position, and all the benefits of removal, and then let them decide 
freely ; but suffer no influential persons to appropriate to themselves an 
undue share of the consideration to be allow 0 J, 



46 



f Doc. No. 271. ] 



I enclose the copy of a letter to the Hon. H. L. White, with the state- 
ments which accompanied it, in order that you may understand the views 
of the President in relation to the present condition of these Florida In- 
dians. 

Very respectfully, 

"Your obedient servant, 

LEWIS CASS. 

To Col. James Gadsden, 

Commissioner ; fyc. 



Deparrment of War, 

February^, 1832. 
Sir : Should you find, upon your arrival among the Indians, insuperable 
difficulties, owing to local circumstances, m the accomplishment of the 
object of your appointment, you are authorized, should you think the mea- 
sure expedient, to permit a deputation of five or six chiefs to visit the seat 
of Government, if the Indians should wish it, and should vest such deputa- 
lion with full powers to conclude a treaty. 

I am, &c. 

LEWIS CASS. 

To Col. James Gadsden, 

St. Augustine^ Florida. 



Department of War. 

June 4, 1832. 

Sir : I have received your letter of the 2d instant, with the accompany- 
ing treaty with the Seminole Indians, and have the gratification of inform- 
ing you, that the President is well satisfied with the arrangement you 
have made. The trust confided to you has, in my opinion, been executed 
with great economy, judgment and fidelity. 

Very respectfully vours, (fee. 

LEWIS CASS. 

To Col. James Gadsden, 

Now at the city of New York. 



Department of War, Office Indian'Affatrs, 

February 18, 1833. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 
28th ultimo, addressed to the Secretary of War, in relation to the reserva- 
tions of land to certain chiefs and their connections, under the additional 
article of the Camp Moultrie treaty of 1823. 

On examining the article of the treaty referred to, your proposal to 
divide the reservations among the parties, in interest, according to the ratio 
established in the payment of annuities, is one of doubtful policy and prac- 
tical difficulty, and cannot be adopted. The Government is anxious for the 
removal of the Seminoles beyond the Mississippi, from a well founded be- 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



47 



lief, that it would result in *heir permanent welfare. Its overtures to them 
to effect that object, have been liberal and conciliating, and it cannot resort 
to any measure of doubtful right, nor encourage, through the instrumenta- 
lity of its agents, any measure hostile to their interests, or calculated to pro- 
duce dissention among them. If they cannot be prevailed upon by fair ar- 
guments and kind offers to remove, the Government will have discharged 
its duty to them, and they will be left to the regret of misconceiving their 
true interests. 

You allege that the young chiefs and warriors incline to sell and go, 
and that they are a decided majority. If, by plurality of numbers, they can 
obtain the supremacy in their council, no good objection can be perceived to 
the exercise of that right. It is not for this Government, or its agents, to 
point out that mode, or to endeavor, in anyway, to bring it about, or to de- 
part in the slightest degree from strict neutrality. But if the younger part 
of the tribe can peaceably and fairly abtain ascendancy in their council, 
and would incline to sell and remove, it is an event to be desired most 
earnestly. The Government having discharged its duty to them by kind 
persuasion and liberal offers, it must now be left to their decision after con- 
sulting with one another. 

The Department had already been apprised, by the commissioners, of the 
feelings of the exploring party under Major Phagan, as it respects the coun- 
try west, and entertain no doubt of their making a favorable report to their 
tribe, and of its consequent removal. 

I have the honor to be, 

Yery respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

ELBERT HERRING, 

Col. James Gadsden, 

Tallahassee, Florida. 



Department of War, Dec. 20, 1833. 
Sir: I have received your letter of the,22d ultimo, enclosing one from 
Captain Graham to you. I thank you for the suggestions you have made. 
They are valuable and will be kept in mind by me. You need not apolo- 
gise for addressing me upon the subject of removing the Indians from 
Florida. Considering the important agency you have had in the matter, 
1 do not wonder that you feel an anxiety on the subject. So far from find- 
ing your communications troublesome, I shall be glad at any time to 
receive them. 

The President will send the treaty immediately to the Senate, and as 
soon as it is acted on the necessary measures will be taken for the removal 
of the Indians. You need be under no apprehensions that they, or persons 
operating on them, will induce the Government unnecessarily to delay their 
departure. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

LEWIS CASS. 

Coh James Gadsden. 



48 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



Department of War. 

December 27, 1833. 
Sir: I have received your letter of the 4th instant, with its enclosure. 
The treaties negotiated by yon. have been submitted to the Senate for their 
ratification, and I have no doubt that they will be favorably acted on by 
that body. As soon as they pass the necessary estimates will be sent in 
and the appropriations asked for, and no delay will take place in carrying 
into effect the provisions of the treaty. I fully a^ree with you that decisive 
measures should be at once used to effect the removal of these Indians and 
that they should understand at once no change will take place in the 
intentions of the Government. 

Very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant. 

LEWIS CASS. 

Col. Ja3ies Gadsden, Lepona. Florida. 



Department of War. 

November 28, 1834. 

Sir : I have received your letter of the 1st instant, on "the subject of the 
reported unwillingness of the Seminoles to remove west of the Mississippi. 
I agree fully withyou in your views on the subject. I have not the least 
doubt but that the arrangements with them were fairly made and fully un- 
derstood. I know by experience how easily the Indians are induced by 
the representations of interested men to delay their own engagements, and 
to determine upon a course utterly irreconcilable with their promises and 
their welfare. The views you have taken as to the proper measures to be 
adopted meet my entire concurrence, and you will see by the enclosed 
copies that the course indicated by you had already been determined upon 
by this Department. I trust that the orders given will be found sufficient 
to obviate the difficulty. It is due to the important part that you had in 
the negotiation that full information on the subject shouid be communicated 
to you. 

Very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant. 

LEWIS CASS. 

Col. James Gadsden, Lepona, Florida. 



Seminole Agency, December 10, 1833. 
Sir: The result of my most mature reflection and judgment as to the 
best and most effectual and practicable mode of suppressing the disgraceful, 
harrassingf. and injurious traffic carried on by unprincipled white men 
with this tribe of Indians, is submitted in the project of a law proposed to 
be passed by the Legislative Council of Florida, a copy of which you have 
enclosed. In compliance with my promise in a letter addressed to the Sec- 
retary of War a few days ago. I now submit through you for his approval. 
If the general plan meets the approbation of the Department, defects can 
be supplied, and an amended copy be enclosed to the Governor or myself, 
at Tallahassee, in time to be presented to the Legislative Council. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



49 



% I have as yet seen but few of the Seminole chiefs, and cannot therefore 
speak confidently as to the general temper of these people, relative to their 
contemplated removal west. I am informed that Mickanopie, (the princi- 
pal chief) and other leading chiefs are apparently disposed to be very obsti- 
nate in their opposition to emigration, and I have but little doubt that white 
men, on the borders of the Indian reserve, labor to aggravate this obstinacy. 
I will promptly communicate to you every occurrence worthy of note. 
Respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON, 
Agent for Florida Indians. 

Elbert Herring, Esq. 



An ACT more effectually to suppress illicit commerce with Indians and Indian countrymen 
within the limits of the Territory of Florida. 

Sec. 1. Be it enacted, That from and after the passing of this act, it 
shall not be lawful for any person or persons whatsoever, to sell, barter, 
loan, give, or in any way distribute, within the limits of said Territory, 
any intoxicating liquid or liquids of any description whatsoever., to or 
among any person or persons, either bond or free, male or female, generally 
known as Indian countrymen, habitually residing with any Indian or In- 
dians, or within the boundaries of any Indian town, reserve, tribe, or 
nation, nor shall it be lawful for any person or persons whatsoever, except 
Indians and Indian countrymen habitually residing within the limits of 
some Indian town, reserve, tribe, or nation, to purchase, barter,, exchange 
for, or on any pretence receive from any Indian or Indian countrymen, 
any negro or other slave or slaves, horse or horses, cattle or hogs, the bona 
fide property of any Indian or Indians, Indian countryman or Indian 
countrymen, without a special license for that purpose first had and obtain- 
ed under the authority of the Government of the United States. And any 
person or persons who shall or may be convicted of a violation of the fore- 
going provisions of this act, shall severally forfeit and pay the sum of five 
thousand dollars, to be recovered in the court of the county in which 
the violation may have been committed, by judgment against the goods 
and chattels, lands and tenements of the person or persons so offending, as 
in common cases of debt, one-half of which shall be to the use and benefit 
of the prosecutor, and the other half shall be paid into the treasury of the 
Territory. And on failure of property sufficient to pay the amount of 
judgment and costs, the offender or offenders shall be branded and whipped 
at the discretion of said court. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That from 
and after the first day of February next, it shall not be lawful for any per- 
son or persons whatsoever, to keep any store, tavern, hotel, public boarding 
house, ale-house, confectionery, grocery or distillery, for the purpose ot 
vending ardent spirits or other intoxicating liquids, or merchandise of any 
other description, at any trading establishment, either from packs, carts, 
wagons, or other vehicles, nor from any description of navigation craft 
whatsoever, within the limits of said Territory, without license first had 
and obtained for that purpose from the clerk of the court of the county, 
where such store, tavern, hotel, public boarding house ,ale-house, confection- 



50 



[ Doc. No. 271. } 



ery, grocery, or distillery, or other trading establishment, may be located, or 
commerce prosecuted ; and any or all person or persons who shall or may be 
convicted of a violation of the provisions of this section of this act, shall 
severally forfeit and pay the sum of five hundred dollars, to be recovered 
of the goods and chattels, lands and tenements of the offender or offenders? 
as provided in the first section of this act, one-half of which sum shall be 
to the use of the prosecutor, and the residue to the treasury of the Territory? 
and on failure to pay the same? the offender or offenders shall severally 
receive thirty-nine lashes on the bare back under the direction of said 
court. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That it 
shall be the duty of the respective clerks of the aforesaid court, on applica- 
tion of any person or persons for license, in conformity to the provisions of 
the second section of this act, to require of the applicant or applicants a 
bond or bonds with ample security for the sum of five thousand dollars^ 
payable to said clerk or clerks, and to his or their successors in office, to be 
void on the condition of faithful compliance by the applicant or applicants 
with the provisions and requisitions of the first section of this act. And it 
shall be the duty of said clerks respectively, in every case, to require of each 
applicant, before issuing a license as herein before provided, to take and 
subscribe the following oath or affirmation on the back of said license, to 
wit : 

I do solemnly swear or affirm (as the case may 

be) that I will not directly or indirectly, in any way or manner violate the 
true intent, object and meaning of an act entitled " An act more effectually 
to suppress illicit commerce with the Indians and Indian countrymen 7 
within the limits of the Territory of Florida,' 7 passed on the day of 
, so help me God. And a true and regular record of each applica- 
tion, license and oath so to be made aforesaid, shall be kept by said clerk or 
clerks, and said clerk or clerks shall receive from each applicant for every 
license so to be issued, the sum of , as compensation for his or 

their services aforesaid. 

Sec. 4. And be it f urther enacted^ That any person or persons who 
shall violate any provisions of the first section of this act, after license so 
had and obtained as aforesaid, shall be subject to all the pains and penalties 
due to the commission of the crime of perjury and be punished accordingly. 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted. That it shall be and it is hereby made 
the duty of all officers of the Territorial Government, to the civil and 
military, to be prompt and vigilant in carrying the provisions of this act 
into full effect, and any officer or officers who shall fail to discharge such 
duty, shall be deemed guilty of mal-practice in office, and on conviction 
thereof* be punished accordingly. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



51 



List of copies of letters transmitted to Congress in answer to a call of the 
House of Representatives^ of May 21, 1836. 



Names 


6f writer. 


Date. 


In answer to letters of. 


Gen. Wiley Thompson, 


Dec. 


10, 


1833 






Do 


do 


May 


6, 


1834 






Do 


do 


a 




a 






Do 


do 


Sept. 


3, 


f£ 






Do 


do 


Oct. 


28, 


ti 






Do 


do 


« 


29, 


ii 






Do 


do 


Nov. 


24. 


ii 






Do 


do 


Jan. 


19, 


1835 






Do 


do 


li- 




a 






Do 


do 


Mar. 


31, 


a 


February 9, 


1835 


Do 


do 


u 




ii 


ii 


a 


Do 


do 


May 


30, 


a 


April 29,' 


a 


Do 


do 


June 


14, 


a 


27, 


a 


Do 


do 


a 


28, 


a 






Do 


do 


Aug. 


t, 


a 






Do 


do 


a 


25, 


ii 


July 31, 


y{ w ' 


Do 


do 


Sept. 


8, 


a 


August 12, 




Do 


do 


Nov. 


14. 


& i 


Sept. 16, 


ii 


Do 


do 


Sept. 


f, 


a 





Seminole Agency, 

November 24, 1834. 

Sir : Having determined that the existing state of things here makes it 
somewhat important that I should remain at the agency, unless otherwise 
instructed by you, I have advertised, in some of the public papers, that J 
will receive here claims, with the evidence in support of them, under the 
treaty of Paine's Landing, against this tribe of Indians. But few of the 
claims have yet come in. 

Persons to whom balances are due from the Government, within the late 
superintendency of Indian affairs in Florida, are becoming impatient. I 
have told them that you informed me, that when the Department should be 
apprised that I was on my way to Florida, funds to pay all balances should 
be immediately remitted to me, and that as I have not yet heard any thing 
from the Department upon the subject, I was fearful some miscarriage of 
the mail had occurred. 

It is important to me that I should be at home a week, about the com- 
mencement of the ensuing year ; and if you do not object, I will make a 
flying visit to my family about that time. If I go, my absence will not be 
protracted beyond four weeks, if it exceeds three. 

The Indians appear peaceable and friendly ; I have drawn the reins ot 
Government close about them. They will, " however, not remove, but as 
forced to do so. I am more confirmed every day in the opinion that they 
have been tampered with by designing, unprincipled white men ; and they 
have come to the conclusion, that by obstinately persisting in their claim 
to the right to remain here until the expiration of twenty years, from the 



52 



[ Doc. No. £71. ] 



date of the treaty at Camp Moultrie, and abstaining from the commission 
of any outrage, their claim will be finally acquiesced in by the Government ; 
and I have been informed, by confidential persons among them, that they 
laugh at the idea of the little handful of men at this post being able to com- 
pel them to remove. 

I have the honor to be, 

Respectfully, your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Elbert Herring, Esq. 



Seminole Agency, 

November 14, 1835. 

Sir : Your letter of the 16th of September, relative to the claim of Gem 
Clinch, has been received. 

I was aware that this is a claim under the intercourse act of June, 1834 ; 
but the peculiar and delicate character of the circumstances attending this 
case, as expressed in my report of the 28th June, 1835, induced me to sub- 
mit it to the Department, in the hope that it could be adjusted without sub- 
jecting the two witnesses (August and Jack Forrester) to eminent danger. 

It is to be feared that one, if not both, of those witnesses will be made a 
sacrifice, should this claim be urged here, according to the regulations of 
the Department under the intercourse act. I do not know that it is admis- 
sible for the Department to adjust it in any other way. But if it can be 
adjusted without a submission of it to the Indians during the present ex- 
citement here, it is certainly very desirable that it should be done ; and 
your silence upon that point induces me to hope, that some course can be 
taken that will obviate the difficulty. In that hope, I respectfully submit 
to the Secretary a copy of the report and evidence. There is no doubt 
here of the facts as set forth in the evidence and report. The killing of 
the negroes by the Indians, is notorious, and the outrageous character of 
the act induced the Indians to threaten the lives of the witnesses if they 
developed its history. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant. 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Elbert Herring, Esq. 



Seminole Agency, 

October 29, 1834. 

Sir : The chief Holate Emartla has insisted upon me to say to the 
Secretary of War, that it is the earnest desire of himself, his confidential 
chief, Fuckelusta Hadjo, and their people, to settle ultimately with Blunt 
and his band, beyond the limits of the United States ; that he will, in good 
faith, discharge his duty to the Government, and, if thought necessary, go 
with the Seminole Indians to the western Creek country. He asks of the 
Government, an arrangement by which him and his people may receive a 
proper consideration for their relinquishment of all their interest in, and 
claims upon, the United States, coupled with a stipulation that they will seek 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



53 



a new home for themselves. He says it was the distinct understanding be - 
tween him and Blunt, that he would follow him to his new home, which 
partly induced Blunt to emigrate. That such has been his open and decided 
course m support of the treaty of Payne's Landing, as to leave him no hope 
that those most hostile to the removal of the Indians, will ever become re- 
conciled to him. He says that it becomes necessary for him and his people 
to seek safety in flight before the Indians are removed. He will enter into 
stipulations to emigrate from. Blunt's reserve, on the Appalachicola river, to 
Blunt's new home, or go to the Arkansas country, and thence take his depar- 
ture. That should it not become necessary for him to flee from this country, 
he will stipulate to emigrate from hence, or from Arkansas, to Blunt's present 
residence, as the Government may choose, and he begs that his proposition 
may be received in confidence and managed with caution, as he is confi- 
dent that his enemies, if they should be apprized of it, will become infuriate, 
The magnanimity which this chief has displayed will, I have no doubt, 
obtain for the propositions which he thus submits, the friendly and serious 
consideration of the honorable Secretary of War. Holate Emartla de- 
sires an early answer. 

I have the honor to be, 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 
Agent Florida Indians. 

Elbert Herring, Esq. 



Camp King, Florida, Oct. 27, 1834. 
Sir: The unsettled determination of a majority of the influential chiefs 
of this nation to disregard the obligations imposed upon them by the treaty 
at Payne's Landing, with the temper indulged by them towards Holate 
Emartla, as manifested in council, added to the threats which we have 
heard have been made against him and some of his chiefs, satisfies us that 
that magnanimous chief, who is faithful to his engagements with the United 
States, is, with his confidential chiefs and families, in some danger. We 
are, therefore, decidedly of opinion that if Holate Emartla should ask for 
the protection which you have suggested to us, that would be afforded to 
him and others who are in danger, by permitting them to go to the reserve 
on Appalachicola river, abandoned by Colonel John Blunt, there to remain 
until called upon by you to return and join the emigrating Indians. It is 
due to him to afford that protection ; justice, humanity, and our feelings 
would induce us to afford the suggested protection without hesitation, 
should the protection be asked. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

J. B. F. RUSSELL, Capt. U. S. A. 
WILLIAM M. GRAHAM, Capt. Uh Inft. 

Fort King, Florida. 

Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

United States Indian Agent. 



54 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



Seminole Agency, October 28, 1834 

Sir : On the 1st instant, Captain J. B. F. Russell, of the United States 
army, and myself, arrived at Camp King. On the succeeding morning I 
called on the adjacent chiefs, gave out broken days for the assemblage of 
the Indians at Camp King, on the 21st inst. to receive their annuity, that 
being the earliest day they would assent to, and I told them I did not wish 
any of them to assemble before that day, as I would not be at liberty to 
issue provisions to them before the day appointed for the meeting ; and I 
admonished them to be punctual to the appointed time. 

Some of the leading chiefs did not arrive until the evening of the 22d. 
and them that were in attendance earlier, would not consent to meet me in 
council until the absentees should arrive ; consequently, the first meeting 
occurred on the 23d, when I delivered to them? a talk, the substance of 
which you have enclosed. On the preceding day they, in answer to me, 
gave in substance what you have appended to my talk of the 23d. 

I told them I could not receive their talk as any thing like an answer to 
the propositions which I had submitted to them, and that I must have a 
direct answer. They requested that we should take time and deliberate on 
the subjects, under the influence of friendly feelings, &c. I told them that 
as some of the propositions were very important to them, it was my duty to 
give them reasonable time to make up their minds upon these points, but 
that when they should retire to deliberate upon these propositions, to carry 
with them the recollection that what I had said to them was in pursuance 
©f instructions from the Government, conformable to the stipulations of 
their solemn treaty, and therefore must stand. 

The succeeding day, on their intimation, we again met in council, when 
they, through the same chiefs, repeated in substance what they had said 
the preceding day. I expressed to them my regret, that they should so 
openly manifest a total disregard of the obligations of their solemn treaty 
with the United States. 

They then requested that I, as their agent and friend, would give them 
my views and opinions upon the subject of their relations with the United 
States, in compliance with which I gave in substance what you have in 
my second talk herewith enclosed. During the delivery of my second 
talk, I was frequently interrupted by some of the chiefs, especially a lead- 
ing chief, who was a member of the exploring delegation, a circumstance 
so unusual in an Indian council, as to satisfy me that they were not only 
afraid that I would produce a proper impression on the minds of the In- 
dians, but that they are obstinately rnxed in a resolution to disregard the 
treaty of Payne's Landing. While I was portraying to them the utter and 
inevitable ruin which would overwhelm them, were it possible for them to 
remain in their present location a few years longer, silence ensued their 
previous frequent interruptions they were awe-struck by the picture I pre- 
sented to them of utter desolation and hopeless wretchedness, and their 
minds, especially Micoanopa's, (whom the Indians look to as a principal 
chief) seemed engrossed and deeply interested. At that important crisis I 
heard Powell, a bold and dashing young chief, who was seated by Mico- 
anopa, and who is vehemently opposed to the removal of the Indians, speak 
to the latter apparently in much earnestness, and the interpreter informed 
me subsequently that Powell then urged Micoanopa to be firm in his reso- 
lution. Holate Emartla, one of the principal chiefs, displayed a magna- 
nimity of character and a nobleness of soul, meriting a better fate than 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



55 



that which I fear awaits him ; he was in very bad health, said but little ; 
but that little was a bold and manly declaration of his determination to 
adhere, in good faith, to his engagements with the United States, and it was 
coupled with a reproof on those who evinced a disposition to prove faith- 
less. Holate Emartla and Fuckaiusta Hadjo, one of his confidential chiefs, 
are of opinion that their own people and party embrace about one-third of 
the nation. These two chiefs informed me secretly that their lives were 
threatened ; that they believed themselves and families, with some of their 
people are in danger ; and they appealed to me for the protection which 
would be afforded to them by permission to visit their friends on the Appa- 
lachicola river, under express stipulations that they will promptly return to 
the Seminole country, or join the Indians on their emigrating journey, 
when called on by me. This protection I have, on mature deliberation, de- 
termined to afford them, when it shall become obviously necessary; but I 
directed Holate Emartla to be on the look out; stay as long as he can in 
safety, as I confidently expect that the Government will soon enable me to 
protect him and his people here, which he seemed delighted to hear. If, 
however, he finds himself in great danger, before the much to be desired 
moment, when the Government will have a sufficient military force in this 
section, I have determined to permit him, and such of his people as are in 
most danger, to occupy the reserve on , the Appalachicola river, recently 
evacuated by Colonel John Blunt and his party, there to remain under all 
existing treaty limitations, restrictions and provisions, until called thence. 

You have herewith enclosed a copy of the opinion expressed to me by 
Captains Russell and Graham, as to the necessity and propriety of the 
permission which I have determined to give to Holate Emartla. 

A full view of all the circumstances, leaves me without doubt that these 
deluded people have determined to resist the execution of the treaty of 
Payne's Landing, and I now have as little doubt that this delusion has been 
induced by some of the causes of hostility to emigration, suggested in my 
report to the superintendent of Indian Affairs, in Florida, dated the 1st of 
January, 1834. There are many very likely negroes in this nation. Some 
of the whites, in the adjacent settlements, manifest a restless desire to obtain 
them ; and I have no doubt that Indian raised negroes are now in possession 
of the whites.' Some of the negroes in the nation, with some of the Indians, 
have been induced, by bribery or otherwise, to stir up hostility among the 
Indians to the intended emigration, for the purpose of detaining the negroes 
here until the Territorial jurisdiction shall be extended over the Indian coun- 
try, so as to enable fraudulent claimants to prosecute their claims in the 
Territorial courts, or, in the general scramble which may grow out of a worse 
state of things, give the avaricious and unprincipled an opportunity to effect 
their object by some other means. It could not have escaped observation, 
that the Indians, after they had received their annuity, purchased an unu- 
sually large quantity of powder and lead. I saw one keg of powder car- 
ried off by one chief, and I am informed that several whole kegs were pur- 
chased. I did not forbid the sale of those articles to the Indians, because, 
as such a course would have been a declaration of my apprehensions, it 
might produce a sudden and immediate eruption. It may be proper to add 
that I was heretofore informed that the chiefs have a deposite of forty or 
fifty kegs of powder, which I did not credit at the time. 

Having thus given you a full view of the existing state of things here, 
I feel it an imperious duty to urge the necessity of a strong reinforcement 



56 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



of this post, and the location of a strong force at Tampa Bay, as early as 
possible. An imposing force thus promptly marshalled, to coerce these 
refractory people, will have the effect to crush the hopes of those who have 
been tampering with them ; awe the chiefs into a proper respect for the 
Government : afford protection to the neighboring white settlements ; and 
supersede the necessity of Holate Emartla and his followers, fleeing the 
country. 

I was informed that it has been usual to make presents to the Indians 
during the payment of the annuity. I did not feel myself authorized to 
pursue the custom, and therefore declined doing so. I did, however, dis- 
tribute among them a small quantity of tobacco, an article as indispensable 
in their estimation almost as provisions. 

In pursuance of your instructions, I am desirous to close the business of 
the superintendency of Indian affairs in Florida. I cannot, however, accom- 
plish this object until I receive the requisite funds. I did anticipate the 
arrival here of the funds necessary to effect this object sometime ago ; but 
owing, I presume, to the want of mail facilities, I have not received from 
your Department any communication of a later date than the 6th of August 
last. 

I have commenced the settlement of the business of the superintendency 
as instructed, up to the date of my arrival here, which was on the 1st 
instant, opportunely closing the 3d quarter of the present year. To that 
date, Captain Russell, on my requisition, paid the striker on the Seminole 
smithery. Eben Beale, the blacksmith whom I left employed, abandoned 
the shop on the 5th of May last ; he was consequently only paid to that 
date, at which time Captain Graham employed a slave belonging to the 
sutler here, Mr. Erastus Rogers, to supply Beale r s place until I should return 
to the agency. This slave was employed because a white man could not 
be obtained who could be relied on. Since my arrival, I have sought to 
employ a white man as gun and blacksmith, but fear I shall not be able to 
obtain one in this country who can be relied on. The slave now engaged, 
is a good smith, and I submit to you whether I shall continue him. On 
my arrival here, I found the striker indulging in intemperance, and I dis- 
charged him. Captain Graham furnished me with a man from the can- 
tonment, to aid in the smithery during the assemblage of the Indians, 
when there is always much work required to be done. I promised the 
man some compensation for his service. I have tried to obtain an Indian 
to serve as striker and failed, and have been as unsuccessful in my appli- 
cation to the whites. If permitted, I will continue Mr. Roger's smith, and 
employ an intelligent slave in the adjacent white settlements, who hires his 
time of his owners, and is desirous to undertake as striker. I can control 
these men, should they be employed, and submit the subject to you, because 
I am aware of the policy which justifies the regulation that requires the 
employment of white men, where Indians competent to peform the service 
cannot be found. The compensation due to Erastus Rogers for the ser- 
vices of his smith, from the 5th of May, to the 30th of September last, was 
not paid, because Mr. Rogers is absent, and left no person duly authorized 
to sign a receipt. 

The existing state of things here, has brought me to the conclusion, that 
it will be proper for me to remain at the agency, and receive here the claims 
against the Indians, provided for by the treaty of Payne's Landing, the ad- 
justment of which has been committed to me, 



[ Doc. No. 271] 



57 



I herewith enclose to you an estimate of all balances, within my know- 
ledge, due frpm the Government to this superin tendency, with the exception 
of the claims for salary and expenses, in favor of the late sub-agent, Mr. D. 
M. Sheffield. I have it not in my power here, to ascertain what is due to 
him, to which maybe added the regular pay of Stephen Richards, as inter- 
preter, on the Appalachicola river. Although he was here at the payment of 
the annuity, such was the press of business, and excitement on the occasion, 
that I forgot to ascertain from him the date to which he was last paid. 
I have the honor to be, 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 
United States Indian Agent. 

Elbert Herring, Esq. 



Fort King, October 23, 1834. 

The council convened this day at 11 o'clock, A. M. 

The agent stated to the assembled chiefs that he had two Government 
interpreters, that if they wished another and would select one, he, the agent, 
would invite him to assist in interpreting. Abraham was selected by 
them. 

The agent then addressed the council in substance as follows: 
" Friends and Brothers : I come from your great father, the President of 
the United States, with a talk : listen to what I say. Last winter I visited 
your country ; your people were generally out on their hunting expedition ; 
I saw but few of you. I was obliged to leave here when I did go, be- 
cause your father, the President, made it my duty to superintend the emi- 
gration of Colonel John Blunt and his people, according to the treaty 
between that chief and the United States. I discharged Blunt and his 
people at the city of New Orleans, and they are gone to their new home 
beyond the Mississippi river. This service engaged my attention until 
May last, when, under permission from your father, the President, I started 
to visit my family in Georgia. On my way my horse ran away with my 
carriage, and come very near destroying me, which caused me much sick- 
ness, and obliged me to remain away from you until now. I am glad to 
meet you all now in council. 

' : On the 9th of May, 1832, you entered into a treaty at Payne's Landing. 
I coma from the President to tell you that he has complied with all his pro- 
mises to you in that treaty that he was bound to do before you move, and 
that yon must prepare to move by the time the cold weather of the winter 
shall have passed away. I have a proposition to you from your brothers, 
the chiefs of the Western Creek nation, but before I present it to you I will 
read to you the preamble and the first article of the treaty at Payne's Land- • 
ing. (That part of the treaty was then read, the treaty at Fort Gibson was 
read : and the map of the country allotted to the Seminoles was then 
shown to them and explained.) Having thus shown to you that the country 
which you have acquired beyond the Mississippi, for this which you have 
by the treaty of Payne's Landing sold to the United States, lies adjoining 
your brothers of the west. I will proceed to present to you their pro- 
position. 



58 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



" Instead of settling in the country allotted to you adjoining to them in 
a body by yourselves, they invite you to settle promiscuously among them ; 
but they think all will be more prosperous and happy, and that there will 
be less strife and contention, if you will, on their invitation, relinquish your 
right to a separate settlement, and settle promiscuously among them. Such 
an arrangement, will, they think, enable the Muscogee people to become, as 
as they were in the days of other years, a great nation. You alone have 
the right to decide whether you will accept the invitation or not : it is left, 
as it should be, entirely optional with you, and no person but yourselves 
has any right to say you shall or shall not accede to the proposition. Take 
this with you when you retire, reflect upon it, and make up your minds for 
yourselves and people. 

Though the President does not believe that any of his red children 
here are so dishonest and faithless as to refuse to go, yet a circumstance 
occurred last year which induced a belief that some person or persons 
around here had a disposition to meddle in regard to the removal — that 
some person had recommended that a delegation should be sent to the Pre- 
sident — this made the President angry, and he sent his orders in writing 
(when a letter from the War Department, dated 21st February, 1834, to his 
Excellency William P. Duval, was read and explained.) This agency will 
be discontinued after the 31st December next. The lands here will be sur- 
veyed and sold, and the laws of the white man will soon extend over this 
country, therefore, the sooner you leave this land the better for you. The 
most comfortable and expeditious mode of travelling for you, your old men, 
women, and children, is by water. I think, if you wish, and you should 
request me to ask your father, the President, to send you by water, his con- 
sent may be obtained. As to the idle reports that I have heard flying about 
in regard to an intention to take from you your negroes, as well as the 
foolish report that some of the negroes will not consent to go, I have only 
to say, that your father, the President, will defend you and your propsrty 
from all persons, white as well as others ; and as to your negroes, should 
there be any so foolish as to object to going with you, he will compel them 
to go even in irons if necessary. 

" I have other propositions to present to you, and which I want you also 
to consult upon, and give me an answer as soon as you have made up your 
minds. 

l f The next question arises out of the fifth article of the treaty at Payne's 
Landing. (That article was read and explained.) The question is, whether 
those among you who own cattle, (which are to be given up to the United 
States at a fair valuation) will prefer to take cattle at your new home, or 
there receive the amount of money which shall be adjudged to be the value 
of the cattle you gave up here? I wish those of you who desire cattle to be 
returned to you at your new homes, for such as you may leave here, to 
inform me of your wish that the Government may be apprized in time to 
comply. 

" The next question is, whether you will petition to go by water, as the 
best mode for getting all the old men, women, the children, lame, sick, and 
lazy of your people comfortably along on their journey to their new home? 

" The next and last question is, how will you have the next annuity 
paid to you; will you have it in goods or in money? Should you prefer to 
receive it in such goods as will suit your wants, your father, the President, 
will have them delivered to you at fair prices, and much lower than you 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



59 



obtain them from the traders. In conclusion, as your friend and brother, 
I have only to say that Captain Russell and myself, are to accompany you 
to your new, home, and for myself, and I will add for Captain Russell, who 
hears me, we pledge ourselves' to be your friends ; to share your toils and 
hardships, and your sufferings, if. unfortunately, any of you should unex- 
pectedly suffer." 

The proposition which I present for you decision is : 

1st. Will you accept the invitation of your brothers of the Western 
Creek nation? 

2d. Do you prefer cattle or money, when yon arrive at your new home, 
for the cattle, which, under the treaty, you must give up here? 

3d. Will you petition to go by water, or do you prefer to go by land? 

4th. How will you have your next annuity paid to you, in money or in 
goods? 

These are the questions 1 wish you to deliberate upon, and give me your 
answer to them as soon as you have made up your minds. When you re- 
tire and enter into private council, upon the propositions which I have 
thus submitted, should you want any further explanations on either point, 
send for me, I will attend you, give the desired explanation, and retire im- 
mediately, so as not to be an intruder on your private council. You are at 
liberty to retire. 

The speaker of the nation, Holate Emartla, said they would retire and 
hold a private council this evening, and also again in the morning, and af- 
ter that, they would attend the agent m council. He then addressed the 
Indian assembly by stating that they now had no excuse; that they had 
heard all that the agent had now said at Payne's Landing; that in the con- 
sultation they must not act like fools. 

[Reported confidentially.) 

The private Indians met in their camp in the afternoon with the chiefs, 
and Powell got up and addressed them, by recommending that they should 
object to the emigration, and to resist all efforts to remove them; and that 
any person that should consent to remove, should be looked upon as an en- 
emy, and should be held responsible to the nation. After a short silence 
Holate Emartla was called upon, by the assembly, for his opinion. He re- 
plied, by saying, that they were in possession of his candid opinion ever 
since the treaty was made at Payne's Landing; that he then consented, 
with all the rest, to that treaty, and every part and clause of it ; that he was 
a man, that did not have the talk of a foolish child; that he deliberately 
thought of every thing for the welfare of himself and nation, before he 
gave his consent to that treaty; that he was there and then satisfied; for it 
was their only alternative for salvation there and hereafter; that he also de- 
liberately and coolly, and with the balance of the delegation that went, west 
of the Mississippi to examine the country, gave his consent, after a full ex- 
amination, to ratify, as they were authorized to do, that treaty. 

That Jumper, another one of the chiefs, who was also with the rest, was 
fully satisfied, and expressed himself so, and that he had now no other 
disposition or excuse, than what he had then: that he was satisfied then, 
and is satisfied now ; that he did not make talks one day, to break them the 
next, and as - for resistance to it," it was an idle thing, and impossible; for 
they had been told already, by the agent, that their father, the President, ex- 



60 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



pected them as chiefs, and men of honor, to comply with their bargain; and 
that if they were so foolish as to heap ruin and disgrace upon themselves 
and people, their father, the President, would compel them to comply with 
it; that he advised them, as honest men, not to resist it. Jumper, a chief, 
then proposed, that Holate Emartla should represent in the council the 
next day, the objections of the nation to removal ; who objected, by saying 
he would not show himself so foolish as to deliver such a simple talk ; he 
considered he was a man, and if he should talk, he must talk like a man. 

Friday, October 24, 1834. The Indians again met in council. The 
agent then told them that he had given them a talk yesterday, and asked 
them if they were ready to give him an answer to the several propositions 
which he then referred to them? The first was in regard to the invitation 
of the Western Creeks ; the second was on the subject of their cattle ; the 
third was, that if you should wish to go by water, and would say so, I 
would recommend it to the President; the fourth was, as to whether you 
will have the next annuity paid to you in money or goods. Upon these 
points I am now ready to receive your answer. 

Abraham was selected as their interpreter. 

Holata Micco then rose and said: "God made all of us, and we all came 
from one woman, sucked one bubby; we hope we shall not quarrel ; that we 
will talk until we get through." 

Micoanopa said, that when they were at Camp Moultrie, they made a 
treaty, and was to be paid their annuity for twenty years; that is all I have 
to say. 

Jumper said, that at Camp Moultrie they told them all difficulties should 
be buried for twenty years, from the date of the treaty made there: that 
after this they held a treaty at Payne's Landing, before the twenty years 
were out ; that they told them they might go and see the country, but that 
they were not obliged to remove. The land is very good, I saw it, and 
was glad to see it; that the neighbors there were bad people; that they did 
not like them bad Indians, the Pawnees. I went and saw the place; f told 
the agent that I was a rogue ; that he had brought me to the place here 
along side, and among the rogues, the bad Pawness, because I am a rogue. 
I went to see the land, and the commissioners said that the Seminoles must 
have that land. When we went west to see the land, we had not sold out 
land here, and we were told only to go and see it. The Indians there steal 
horses, and take packs on their horses ; they all steal horses from the dif- 
ferent tribes; he do not want to go among such people; your talk seems 
always good, but we don't feel disposed to go west. 

Holate Emartla. — " The horses that were stolen by the Cherokees, we 
never get back (the party that went west.) We then told the agent (Pha- 
gan) that the people were bad there ; the land was good. When they went 
there, we saw the Indians bring in scalps to the garrison. When we were 
there, we had a meeting with Mcintosh ; he told us that among all their 
neighbors they had peace. That he and Col. Arbuckle were to send out 
to have a treaty of peace with all the Spanish Indians ; and when that was 
done, a report of it was to be sent to Washington. I am sick. I cannot 
say all I want to say. I am a man that wants to talk coolly and deliberate- 
ly, and to tell the truth in all things. They promised to send to our nation 
word when peace was made with all those Indians west of the Mississippi. 
He then told the chiefs to address the agent, and express their opinion— 
as they had different opinions, they should talk it over, and consult, and try 
to come all of one opinion. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



61 



Charley Emartla. — " The speakers of the nation are all dead ; but I re- 
collect some of their words when they had the meeting at Camp Moultrie. 
I was not there, but heard that we would be at peace, and that we would 
have our annuity paid to us for 20 years. White people have told me that 
the treaty at Camp Moultrie, which was made by great men, and not to be 
broken, had secured them for twenty years ; that seven years of that treaty 
are still unexpired. I am no half breed, and do not lean on one side. If 
they tell me to go after the seven years, I say nothing. That as to the pro- 
position made them by the agent about removing, I do not say I will not 
go ; but I think that, until the seven years are out, I give no answer. My 
family I love dearly and sacredly. I do not think it right to take them 
right off. The President has often said to me that he loves his children — 
that they loved him. When a man is at home, and got his stock about him, 
he looks upon it as the subsistence of himself and family. Then when 
they go off, they reflect and think more seriously, than when quiet at home. 
I do not complain of the agent's talk. My young men and family are all 
around me. Should I go west, I should lose many on the path. As to the 
country west, I looked at it ; a weak man cannot get there ; the fatigue 
would be so great ; it requires a strong man. I hardly got there. 
When I went there, the agent, Phagan, was a passionate man — he quar- 
relled with us after we got there. Had Major Phagan done his duty, it 
would all have been settled, and there would have been no difficulty. If I 
know my own heart, I think I am true. If I differ from the agent, he is a 
free man, and has his right to his talk. I hope his talk will bring all things 
right, that hereafter we may all live well together. I am pleased with the 
sight of the agent, and hope we may know each other better." 

The agent then said, I have no answer to make to what you have said 
to me to-day. My talk to you yesterday must and will stand, and you must 
abide by it. I am surprised at the chiefs, that, after the solemn treaty they 
entered into at Payne's Landing, they should come to me to-day with such 
a talk as they have made. Is it any thing like an answer to the propositions 
and questions which I submitted yesterday, for your consideration and de- 
cision ? The meeting was appointed for the 21st instant; three days have 
passed away, and the chiefs come to me to-day with a foolish talk about 
Camp Moultrie. Is this a talk like chiefs ? Is it such as I had a right to 
expect from you after my honest talk to you ? I will not, dare not, receive 
your talk to-day as any thing like an answer to the questions which I sub- 
mitted to you yesterday. I must have a direct answer to these questions : 
The first is, will you accept of the invitation from your brothers of the 
west ? The second is, do you prefer money or cattle, at your new home, 
for the cattle you will leave here ? The third is, do you wish to go by water? , 
The fourth is, do you prefer to have your next annuity paid to you in goods, 
suitable to your wants, or will you have it in money ? And I want when you 
meet me again in council, to give a correct account of the number of your 
people, that the Government may provide for you comfortably while on 
your journey, whether by land or by water. Now retire, and take as much 
time as is necessary to deliberate on the points which I have submitted to you ; 
and when you are ready to meet me, let me know. When you come here 
again, come prepared to act like chiefs, and honorable men ; don't bring to 
me any more foolish talks. Men do not listen to the talks of a child ; and 
remember that the talk I gave you must and will stand. 

October 25, 1834. The Council convened at 11 o'clock. Interpreters as 
yesterday. 



62 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



The Agent said to the Council, " I am ready to receive your answers to 
the questions which I submitted to you." 

Holate Micco. — I have only to repeat what I said yesterday, and to say 
the twenty years from the treaty at Moultrie has not yet expired. I never 
gave my consent to go west ; the whites may say so, but I never gave my 
consent. 

Jumper. — We are not satisfied to go until the end of the twenty years, 
according to the treaty at Camp Moultrie. We were called upon to go to 
the west, beyond the Mississippi. It is a good country ; this is a poor coun- 
try we know. We had a good deal of trouble to get there ; what would it 
be for all our tribe ? 

Micoanopa. — " I say, what I said yesterday, I did not sign the treaty." 

Charley Emartla. — The agent told us yesterday we did not talk lo the 
point. I have nothing to say different from what I said yesterday. At 
Payne's Landing, the white people forced us into the treaty. I was there. 
I agreed to go west, and did go west. 1 went in a vessel, and it made me 
sick. I undertook to go there : and think that, for so many people, it would 
be very bad. The Indians and the whites have spilled no blood. They 
stole things from each other. At Payne's Landing the tomahawk was bu- 
ried, and peace was to prevail as long as agreed on between whites and In- 
dians. They agreed at Payne's Landing, that if blood was seen in the 
path to think it was because a person had snagged his foot. We wish to 
hear the agent's views and opinions on the matter. 

The Agent. — You tell me you wish to hear me upon the subject of your 
relations with the United States, and you have told me that you want to 
talk the matter over calmly, and in good humor. I am not mad ; I am 
your friend. I feel here that I am, and that it is my official duty to be so. 
All the reply required of me, officially, to your foolish and unreasonable 
talk, is, that it is no answer to the questions I submitted to you. I cannot, I 
dare not receive it as an answer. I have told you that you must stand to your 
bargain. My talk is still the same. You must go west. Your father, the 
President, who is your friend, will compel you to go. Therefore, be not 
deluded by any hope or expectation that you will be permitted to remain 
here. You have expressed a wish to hear my views and opinion upon the 
whole matter. As a man, and your friend, I will this day once deign to 
reason with you; for I want to show you that your talk of to-day is the 
foolish talk of a child. Holate Micco tells me that one God made us all, 
and that we all descended from one woman, and drew nourishment from 
one breast. When I admit this truth, as 1 cheerfully do, I feel here in my 
bosom that you are my brothers, and that I am your friend. We should 
therefore act towards each other as brothers, and not speak with a forked 
tongue; if we do, or if we try to break our solemn talks, that Great Spirit 
that made us will punish us. Micoanope tells me that he did not sign the 
treaty at Payne's Landing, and that the twenty years of the annuity accord- 
ing to the Camp Moultrie treaty is not expired. I hold in my hand the 
treaty of Payne's Landing; here is Micoanope's name and mark to it; it was 
witnessed by (here the witnesses were named). They are honest men, 
therefore Micoanope does not tell the truth. He did sign the treaty at 
Payne's Landing. (Micoanope here interrupted the agent by saying that he 
did not touch the pen, he only reached over and pointed to it). He did 
touch the pen ; for when he attempted to sign by pointing, he was told to 
touch. Hicks bent down out of his way. He did sign the treaty. Jum- 

1 w ; I 

, \ ■ i % 1 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



63 



per says they agreed at Payne's Landing to go and examine the country 
west, but they were not bound to remove to it until the nation should agree 
to do so, after the return of the delegation ; and he adds, what 6thers of you 
have sa t d, that the treaty at Camp Moultrie was to stand for twenty years. 
Such a talk from Jumper surprises me, for he is a man of sense. He under- 
stands the treaty at Payne's Landing, which he signed ; he was the first 
named in that treaty, of the delegation appointed to go west ; he knows 
that that treaty gave him and the other members of the delegation authority 
to decide whether the nation should remove or not. He visited and exam- 
ined the country that was proposed to you, and he, with all the other mem- 
bers of the delegation, decided that the country is good ; that the Seminole 
nation should remove to it according to the treaty at Payne's Landing. The 
Indian Board of Commissioners made a treaty with your brothers of the 
west, by which they agreed to reunite with you, and Jumper, with all the 
other members of the delegation made a final treaty which I now hold in 
my hand, with all their names ^subscribed to it, confirming the treaty at 
Payne's Landing. The President therefore will be astonished when he 
hears that Jumper has made a different talk now. Charley Emartla says 
that the treaty at Camp Moultrie was made by men, and that it has seven 
years to stand, and that they were not bound by the treaty of Payne's Land- 
ing to remove west, because the question was not submitted to the Semi- 
nole nation after their delegation returned, whether they were willing to 
go. You all say that as there are seven years of the twenty years' annuity 
stipulated in the treaty of Camp Moultrie yet to run, you are not bound to 
go until the full time is expired, and yet the whole of you signed a treaty at 
Payne's Landing, by which you solemnly bound yourselves to remove within 
three years from the ratification of that treaty, and the whole of the dele- 
gation that went west confirmed that promise by entering into a final 
agreement to do so, by which the whole nation is bound. But why talk 
about the Camp Moultrie treaty, as if you had not the right or power to 
make tie treaty at Paine's Landing until the term of annuity, stipulated by 
the treaty at Camp Moultrie, shall have expired? Was it not in your power 
to make the treaty at Payne's Landing? Did you not have the right to do so? 
If you did not have the right to do so, then you who signed the treaty at 
Payne's Landing were faithless to your people, and are unfit to be chiefs. If 
I make a trade with you, by which I give you the use of my horse during 
four or more years, for twenty dollars a year, would we not have the right 
to make another trade before the expiration of the time limited, by which 
I would take my horse back again? You know you had the right to make 
that treaty ; you did make it, and you know and feel that you are all bound 
by it. But you' say the treaty at Camp Moultrie was made by men, thereby 
indicating that the treaty at Payne's Landing was not made by men. Was 
it made by old women and children? If the spirit of Hicks is now flitting 
around us, how must he grieve at your conduct ; how blush to hear you ac- 
knowledge you are not men ; that you are unfit to be chiefs. But it is said by 
Charley Emartla, that the white people forced you into the treaty at Payne's 
Landing. If you were so cowardly as to be forced by any body to do what 
you ought not to do, you are unfit to be chiefs, and your people ought to 
hurl you from your stations. But you know that this is not the truth ; you 
know you were not forced to do it. You know that Colonel Gadsden told 
you at Payne's Landing, that it was the wish of your father, the President, 
to remove you west of the Mississippi river; that you had to make a treaty 



64 



[ Doc. No* £71. ] 



for that purpose ; that it was a proposition in which you are deeply in te° 
rested ; and he told you therefore to take time therefore, and reflect well upon 
it, for if you then agreed to it, you would be obliged to comply with your 
bargain. You know that Colonel Gadsden is a pure man. You know that 
the witnesses to the treaty are respectable men. You well understood 
that treaty then ; you understand it now, and you feel that you slander the 
whites by saying you were forced to make the treaty : you made the treaty 
because you were authorized to do so, and because it was your duty to 
consult the good of your people. This is your justification to your people 
for having made the treaty. You, by this treaty, clothed your delegation 
With power to say whether the nation should move west : they went and 
viewed the country, and found it good. This is their justification to the 
nation for making the final agreement with the Indian board of commis- 
sioners. Having found the country good, they were bound to do as they 
done. According to the form of the white people's Government, each 
State and Territory has its own boundaries. The States have the right to 
extend their laws over the Indians located within their respective limits. 
"With the permission of Congress, the Territories may do the same : Georgia, 
Alabama, and other States, have already extended their jurisdiction over 
the Indians within their respective limits. The Creeks, Choctaws, Chick- 
asaws, and Cherokees, who live in the States, are moving west of the Mis- 
sissippi river, because they cannot live under the white people's laws ; they 
are gone and going, and the Seminole people are a small handful to their 
number. Two Governments cannot exist in the same boundary of terri- 
tory. Where Indians remain within the limits of a State or Territory un- 
til the jurisdiction of a State or Territory shall be extended over them, the 
Indian government, laws, and chiefships, are forever done away — the In- 
dians are subject to the white man's law. The Indian must be tried, 
whether for debt or crime, in the white man's court : the Indian's law is 
not to be known there ; the Indian's evidence is not to be admitted there ; 
the Indian will, in every thing, be subject to the control of the white man. 
It is this view of the subject which induces your father, the President, to 
settle his red children beyond the limits of the States and territories where 
the white man's law is never to reach you, and where you and your chil- 
dren are to possess the land, while the grass grows and the water runs. 
He feels for his red children as a father should feel. It is therefore that he 
made the treaty with you at Payne's Landing, and for the same reason he 
will compel you to comply with your bargain. But let us look a little 
more closely into your own situation. Suppose (what is however impossi- 
ble) that you could be permitted to remain here a few years longer, what 
would be your condition ? This land will soon be surveyed, sold to, and 
settled by, the whites. There is now a surveyor in the country; the juris- 
diction of the Territory will soon be extended over this country. Your 
laws would be set aside, your chiefs would cease to be chiefs ; claims for 
debt and for your negroes would be set up against you by bad white men, 
or you would perhaps be charged with crimes affecting life ; you would be 
hailed before the white man's court ; the claims against you for debt, for 
your negroes, or other property, and the charges of crime preferred against 
you, would be decided by the white man's law. White men would be 
witnesses against you ; Indians would not be permitted to give evidence; 
your condition, in a very few years, would be hopeless wretchedness. But 
let us come down to a single case. Suppose Micoanopa could be permitted 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 65 

to take a reserve of a mile square, and he could be permitted to remain here 
a few years longer ; he has many fine looking negroes : there are persons 
who have an itching desire to obtain some of the fine negroes in the nation ; 
the white man's law extended over Micoanopa, a white man sets up a 
claim to Micoanopa's negroes, and exhibits, in the white man's court, a bill 
of sale from Micoanopa, do you not believe some white man could be got 
to prove the bill of sale ? Indian evidence Would not be admitted, and 
Micoanopa would be compelled to give up his negroes. When I was in 
this country last winter, I was told that Micoanopa, on some occasion, asked 
,a white man to draw a piece of writing for him ; the man done so ; Micoa- 
nopa signed it ; and some time thereafter the man set up a claim to a con- 
siderable part of this country : for the writing, instead of what Micoanopa 
wanted, turned out to be a conveyance from him to the man, of a large 
tract of land. This was many years ago ; but all bad men are not yet 
dead, and white men can still write, and Micoanopa has likely negroes. 
Thus, you may see, that were it possible for Micoanopa to remain here a 
few years longer, he would be reduced to hopeless poverty, and when urged 
by hunger to ask, perhaps, of the man who thus would have ruined him, 
(and is perhaps now tampering with him for the purpose of getting his pro- 
perty,) for a crust of bread, he might be called an Indian dog, and be or- 
dered to tiiear out. [Here Powell, who was seated by Micoanopa, urged 
him to be firm in his resolution.] Your father, the President, sees all these 
evils, and will save you from them by removing you west ; and I stand up 
for the last time to tell you, that you must go ; and if not willingly, you will 
be compelled to go. I should have told you that no more annuity will be 
paid to you here. [Powell replied that he did not care whether any more 
was ever paid.] I hope you will, on more mature reflection, act like honest 
men, and not compel me to report you to your father, the President, as faith- 
less to your engagements. 

Powell said the decision of the chiefs was given — that they did not in- 
tend to give any other answer. 

Micoanopa said that he did not intend to remove. 

The Agent. I am now fully satisfied that you are willfully disposed to 
be entirely dishonest in regard to your engagements with the President, 
and regret that I must so report you. The talk which I have made to you 
must and will stand. Retire and prepare your sticks to receive your an- 
nuity to-morrow. 



Seminole Agency, 

September 8, 1835. 
Sir : Your letter of the 12th ultimo, enclosing a copy of Mr. Gilleland's 
letter of July, 1835, to the Department, on the subject of his claim against 
the Seminoles, has been received. 

I did receive a letter from Mr. Gilleland on the subject of this claim r 
and I replied to him that it would be embodied in my general report upon 
the claims which might be submitted to me under the 6th article of the 
treaty of 1832, with the Seminoles, and that I should make my report as. 
early as practicable. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Mr. C. A. Harris, 

Acting Secretary of War. 



66 



[ Doc. No. 271. J 



Eherton, September 3, 1834. 

Sir : Captain J. B. F. Russell, of the United States Army, informed me 
by letter, dated at Lynchburg, Virginia, on the 13th ultimo, that being de- 
tained by slight indisposition, he would wait there until he should receive 
an answer from me to inquiries as to the probability of my being able to 
accompany him to Camp King, and whether he would be able to obtain in 
Augusta, Georgia, specie to the amount of five or six thousand dollars, for 
a Treasury draft on the Branch bank at Charleston, South Carolina, as on 
my answer would depend his determination, as to the route he would pur- 
sue. I immediately replied to him, that although I had fixed upon an earlier 
day for my departure from the agency, yet that I would wait until the 4th 
instant, when the stage leaves this place for Augusta, which would afford 
him an opportunity to join me on the way, or meet me in that city, where 
we would, I had no doubt, be able to effect the exchange he desired, and if 
we should fail then, we should, in all probability, be able to accomplish the 
object in Savannah, through which city would be our best route, as I was 
informed that a steam-boat plies between that city and a point on the St, 
John's river, Florida, within a short distance of Camp King. I shall, there- 
fore, be on my way to the agency by twelve o'clock to-morrow. 

Immediately on my arrival at the agency I shall proceed, in pursuit of 
instructions from your Department, relative to the unsettled business of the 
superin tendency of Indian affairs in Florida — the adjustment of claims 
against the Seminole Indians, for the payment of which an appropriation 
has already been made — and the presentation of the proposition of the west- 
ern Creek chiefs to the Seminoles. I am somewhat at a loss to determine 
at what point I ought to receive the claims, with the evidence in support of 
them. The Seminole and Appalachicola Indians are separated a distance 
of about two hundred and fifty miles, and it is presumable that the claim- 
ants are scattered through Georgia, Alabama, and the various sections of 
Florida, some of them remote from any point which may be designated, 
perhaps five hundred miles. It will be proper for me, 1 apprehend, to give 
notice in the public papers, not only that I am authorized to adjust those 
claims, but also of the point or points at which, with the time when, they 
may be exhibited. Evidence in support of some of the claims has been 
transmitted to your Department, which it would be well for me, perhaps, to 
possess — I recollect the claim of Mulatto King, or Bacca Pechassie. 

To effect the object of closing the business of the superintendency, my 
presence at Tallahassee, and at the Indian reserves on the Appalachicola 
river, may be necessary. Besides the chiefs Bacca Pechassie and Econ- 
chattee Micco are, on my return to Florida, to report to me their final de- 
cision, on the proposition which I made to them in reference to the mi- 
gration of themselves and people. I desire instructions on the several sug- 
gestions I have made, especially as it will involve additional expenditure, 
if I visit Tallahassee and the Indians on the Appalachicola river, which 
.iseems to me important. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Eleert Herring, Esq. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



67 



Seminole Agency, August 25, 1835. 

Sir : Your letter of the 31st ultimo, acknowledging the receipt of my 
report upon the claim of Gen. D. L. Clinch, against the Seminole Indians, 
has been received. 

The treaty of Payne's Landing, between the United States and the Semi- 
nole Indians, was concluded on the ninth day of May, 1832. The 6th 
article of the treaty is in the following words : " The Seminoles being 
anxious to be relieved from repeated vexatious demands for slaves and 
other property, alleged to have been stolen and destroyed by them, so that 
they may remove, unembarrassed, to their new homes, the United States 
stipulate to have the same properly investigated, and to liquidate such as 
may be satisfactorily established, provided the amount does not exceed 
seven thousand dollars." 

The construction which I have given to the above recited article, ex- 
cludes from a participation of the seven thousand dollars provided by that 
article, all claims which have originated subsequent to the date of the 
treaty. The claim of General Clinch has originated subsequent to that 
date, and I had, therefore, supposed that General Clinch's claim was a 
good and subsisting one against the nation, and not contemplated by the 
treaty. If the treaty must be construed as contemplating claims which 
have originated subsequent to its date, there are other claims which must 
be admitted with General Clinch's. Indeed claims which may originate 
at any time before a final report, will, on that rule of construction, be ad- 
mitted. 

Do me the favor to inform me what construction I shall give to the 
treaty. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Mr. C. A. Harris-. 



Seminole Agency, August 1, 183.6. 
Sir : About the 19th or 20th of June, a rencounter occurred between 
a party of whites and a party of strolling Indians, in which three of the 
whites were wounded. One of the Indians killed and one wounded, of 
which I received information on the 22d. There were at that time live 
of the principal chiefs at the agency, I immediately despatched runners for 
others, who promptly attended, to all of whom I made known the outrage 
which had been committed, and peremptorily demanded of the nation a 
surrender of the depredatory. The chiefs at once disclaimed the outra- 
geous act of their countrymen, and promptly ordered the apprehension of 
the culprits, and on the succeeding morning, (which was the 24th,) four of 
them were brought up and surrendered to me, and two more were brought 
on the evening of the same day and given up. The examination of these 
two parties was separately taken, a copy of which you have herewith 
enclosed. 

The wounded Indian was, during the succeeding night, borne on the 
shoulders of others who were sent to bring him, to within three or four 
miles of this place, when it was found that he was so ill from a severe 
wound, that he could be brought no further, J permitted bim to remain i 



68 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



there, on a pledge of the chiefs, that when sufficiently recovered, he should 
be brought to the garrison and be confined. The other six were kept in 
confinement until the 27th ultimo, when I turned them over to the chiefs, 
on their giving me a pledge, that when called for, the whole of the seven 
should be surrendered to the civil authority. The accompanying copy of 
a correspondence which will show that I made a tender of them to the 
civil authority, will, I trust, be considered a sufficient justification of the 
course I have taken : I have not yet received an answer from Judge San- 
chey. The chiefs began to complain of delay ; the prisoners became ex- 
tremely impatient, and a proper regard to economy seemed to me to require 
that the post should be relieved from the expense of supplying them with 
provisions. 

The chiefs acted promptly and with energy, for which they merit com- 
mendation. 

Yery respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Hon. Elbert Herring. 

Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 



Seminole Agency, June 24, 1835 — Forenoon. 

Examination of Wacoochee Hajo. Sapokitee, We-ha-sit-kee and Capicha 
Hajo, some of the Indians who formed the party that committed the out- 
rage in Alaskwa county, on the day of June, 1835. 

"Their statement : 

Wacoochee Hajo, Sapokite, Wehalitkee, Fuxe, and Sawtichee, of Long 
Swamp, went beyond the Indian boundary near Kanahaha pond, in Ala- 
bama county. Before they marched there they killed a cow, (which be- 
longed to one of the whites) in the neighborhood of Deamonds pond. 
When they got within three miles of Kenapaha, near a sink hole, where 
there is water, they encamped. Another party of Indians, viz : Capicha 
Hajo, Chokikee and Hithlomee, from Big Swamp, who had been upon the 
Santafee river, met them there and encamped a short distance from the first 
party ; that two of the Long Swamp Indians, to wit : Lecotichee and Fuxe, 
went out hunting in the morning; the other six, to wit, Wacoochee Hajo, 
Sapokitee, Wehalitkee, Capicha Hajo, Chokikee, and Hithlomee, were to- 
gether about 12 o'clock at one of the camps, when a party of whites arrived 
at the camp where the six Indians were together, took their guns from 
three of them, examined their packs, and commenced whipping them, and 
the Indians ran off. One of them ran but a short distance, when he was 
called by the whites. The whites commenced whipping him again ; he 
called to another Indian who had also ran off; at that crisis the two Indians 
who had been out hunting, to wit, Lecotichee and Fuxe were approach- 
ing the camp, and commenced firing at the party of whites. The whites 
returned the fire, killed Fuxe and wounded Lechotichee severely, the other 
three from Long Swamp were disarmed before the firing commenced. The 
three from Big Swamp, who were at the camp of the Long Swamp Indians 
when the whites arrived, and had left their guns at their own camp, ran 
off when the firing commenced, without their guns. After the whites 
left the scene of action, one or two of the Indians 'went back and got their 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



69 



guns. Three guns were taken by the whites before the firing commenced, 
and were carried off by them. But two Indians, to wit, Fuxe and Lecho- 
tichee fired, and they fired two or three times each. 

June 25, 1835 — Afternoon. 
Examination of C okikee and Hithlomee. 

They were with Capicha Hajo, and had been upon the Santafee river. 
They met Wacoochee Hajo, and four other Indians at a sink hole where 
there is water, about three miles from Kanahaha pond. Two of the Long 
Swamp Indians were out hunting ; the three Big Swamp Indians were at 
the camp of the other party, making six at that camp. About 12 o'clock 
a party of white men came upon that camp, the whites began to whip the 
Indians, and about the time they commenced whipping the second one, the 
two were out hunting, to wit, Lechotichee and Fixe or Fixoneechee, ap- 
proached the camp and commenced firing on the whites, and when they 
were in the act of firing the second round, they, (the said Chokikee and 
Hithlomee ran off and did not stop until they reached their town,) Wacoo- 
chee Hajo, Sapokitee, Weehalitkee, Capicha Hajo and the said Chokikee, 
and Hithlomee, were alone together at the same camp when the party of 
whites, consisting of seven, came upon them. Capicha Hajo, and the said 
Chokikee and Hithlomee had left their guns at their own camp. The other 
three, to wit: Wacoochee Hajo, Sapokitee and Weehalitkee were disarmed by 
the whites, before the other two, to wit : Lechotichee and Fixe or Fixonee- 
chee appeared and commenced firing, and the whites had the guns of said 
Indians stacked against a tree, where they were guarded by some of the 
whites. There were but eight Indians in the whole, and none fired but the two 
before stated ; the others were disarmed, and could not have fired had they 
been so disposed. 



Seminole Agency, June 14, 1835. 
Sir : I have this day received a letter from the acting Secretary of 
War, dated the 20th ultimo, in answer to mine of the 27th April, 1835, on 
a subject of the utmost importance, as it concerns the enterprise of remov- 
ing these Indians. 

To make Captain Thruston's visit to Washington available on this sub- 
ject, I take the liberty, very respectfully, to refer you to him for a more 
comprehensive and correct view of the state of things here, than I can 
possibly give in writing. 

Yielding to the suggestions of some of the most intelligent officers at 
Fort King, as well as to the force of my own deep conviction of its pro- 
priety, I venture to suspend further operations upon the subject until I 
again hear from the Department. 

I have the honor to be, 

Very respectfully, sir, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. ' 

To his Excellency the President 

of the United States. 

Endorsement by the President. 

It is made known to me by Colonel Gadsden and Captain Thruston, now 
here, that the Indians in Florida have no disposition to sell their negroes, 



70 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



and the very idea that any individuals are permitted to come into their 
country to buy, has disturbed them very much, and all say they will 
neither sell or leave their negroes. You will, therefore, instruct the agent, 
extracting the above information, to permit no individual to go into the 
nation to buy any of their negroes without his written passport, and to in- 
form the chiefs of this order. . 
July 6, 1835. A. J. 



Seminole Agency, June 28, 1835. 
Sir : I herewith submit to you a transcript of the evidence in support 
of the claim of General L. L. Clinch against the Seminole tribe of Indians, 
as indemnity for the loss of two negro men slaves, the property of General 
Clinch, which were killed by a party of Seminole Indians during the 
year 1834. 

The only written evidence submitted in support of the allegation that 
the negroes in question were killed by the Indians, is the affidavits of two 
black men, one a slave to an Indian woman, and the other a free man. 
They were, as you will perceive, examined separate and apart, and at dif- 
ferent periods : they are intelligent. Their statement, which is strongly 
corroborated by common report, added to the admission of the Indians that 
the negroes were killed by them, satisfies my mind that the act of killing 
the negroes was unnecessary, wanton, and cruel ; and that it was induced 
by the intemperance of the Indians, who were sent from the scene of a 
drunken riot in pursuit of the negroes. 

You will perceive, from the testimony of Jack Forrester, that the Indians 
beat the said August severely, because he told them they had done wrong, 
and would be compelled to pay for the negroes. I subsequently inter- 
rogated August on that point. He affirmed what Jack Forrester stated, and 
said that he was so severely bruised as to be laid up for seme days ; and 
he added, that they threatened to kill him if he ever should say any thing 
on the subject, of which threats I have heard from other sources. If it 
were made known that these men, August and Jack Forrester, have given 
testimony on the subject, it is believed that they would be killed by the 
Indians. I have, therefore, thought it most expedient to lay the subject 
before you, without submitting it to the Indians. 

The affidavits of John H. Mcintosh, jr. and Wiley Brooks, go to establish 
the value of the negroes They are entitled to credit. 

Upon a full view of the subject, I consider General Clinch entitled to the 
indemnity which he claims. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Hon. Lewis Cass. 



Territory of Florida. 

Tallahassee, May 6, 1834. 

Sir : Having waited here several days in hope of the arrival of the suc- 
cessor of Governor Duval, (and to make up my report to you.) and disap- 
pointed in that hope, I was about to instruct the' sub-agent, Mr. D. M. Shef- 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



71 



field, to repair to and remain at the Seminole agency, until he sltould 
otherwise be instructed. But, on a suggestion made by Governor Duval r 
that it might be well for Mr. Sheffield" to remain some time longer in this, 
place, to be ready to receive instructions from his successor, should he 
arrive in a short time, and to attend to any communications from the De- 
partment connected with Indian affairs in Florida, which might be made 
during the existing interregnum in the superin tendency, I was induced to 
forbear, and to submit to you the propriety of sending Mr. Sheffield to the 
agency to remain during my absence. Until arrangements shall be made 
at the Department for the removal of the Seminole Indians, according to 
their stipulations, (which I presume cannot be done until the treaties are 
ratified, and the requisite funds appropriated.) there is no subject of pressing' 
importance churning the attention of the agent, that I know of, except 
the disastrous and all destroying practice of intemperance among the 
Indians, alike disgraceful to the individuals who, for the lucre of a few 
eleven-penny-bits, deal damnation to an ignorant and degraded race, and the 
civilised communities that tolerate those individuals. I have made every 
exertion in my power to restrain those avaricious unfeeling human vul- 
tures, but the peculiar character of the country — its numerous extensive 
swamps, marshes, hammocks, bays, rivers, creeks, and inlets, so aptly 
adapted to favor the clandestine traffic, added to the scattered locations of 
the bands, some on the Appalachicola river at different points, and. the others 
in the Seminole country, remote from the first two hundred and forty miles 
— renders it utterly impossible for any individual to restrain the evil. An 
enactment of the legislative council of the Territory forbids the sale of 
stimulants to the Indians, on pain of a fine of two hundred dollars, or 
thirty-nine stripes. Prosecutions have been commenced under this law, 
but the cases linger on the docket of the court, and I have understood that 
the court doubts the jurisdiction of the council upon this subject, which 
serves to inspire the whiskey dealers with confidence. My personal safety 
has been more than once endangered by the intoxication of Indians, and 
I consider myself no more safe from the proprietors of the numerous dirty 
little whiskey doggeries located around the Indian borders, on whom I 
have been as severe as I have power to be. I have been so provoked, as 
to be almost tempted to order the chiefs to demolish the little, log huts, and 
rude shantees, hovering upen the Indian border, in which the Indian's 
bane is kept for sale. Something ought to be done speedily to protect, this 
wretched people against the dreadful evil. The death of those Indians of 
Blunt's and Davy's band, who died at the bay, was, I have no doubt, 
induced by intemperance, which, with other reasons, prompted me to make r 
in the paper published at Appalachicola, the publication contained : on a 
printed slip cut from a number of that paper, which you have enclosed. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant. 

WILEY THOMPSON, 

Indian Agent. 

To Elbert Herring, Esq. 

A copy of a publication referred to in the latter part of the above letter 
from Mr. Thompson to the public, is as follows : 

According to the terms of a treaty entered into between the United 
States and the Indian chiefs John Blunt and Da\ r y Elliot, those chiefs, with 



12 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



their band, will emigrate beyond the limits of the United States. In com- 
plying with their stipulations, the said chiefs, with a majority of their band, 
have assembled on the northeastern margin of Appalachicola bay, on or 
near what is called " Oat Point," where they will remain until the outfit 
for their final departure can be conclusively arranged, unless the preserva- 
tion of the health of the band shall make a change of their encampment 
necessary. For the protection of the Indians, and to forewarn the public, 
I have assigned the following limits to their encampment : commencing on 
the shore of the bay, at the upper corner ol Mrs. King's improvement ; 
thence along the upper line of paling to a newly blazed small forked pine 
tree, beyond an enclosed grave, northeast from the bay shore ; thence 
northwest by a staked line to a majestic solitary pine tree, near a small run- 
ning stream of water which empties into the bay, first above Dr. Price's 
improvement, (which is included within the encampment,) thence to said 
stream, and by its meanders to the bay, thence down the bay to the 
beginning. Within the limits thus assigned for the encampment of said 
Indians, no person will be admitted without special written permission 
from the superintendent or agent for Indian affairs in the Territory of 
Florida. Any person who may visit the encampment by permission, will 
present a written permit to Mr. William Pace, who belongs to the encamp- 
ment, for inspection. Any attempt to enter the encampment wantonly or 
forcibly, will be repelled. The agent appeals to the good citizens of Appa- 
lachicola and its vicinity, to aid him in protecting the Indians, and to restrain 
the sale or barter of intoxicating liquors to them. 

WILEY THOMPSON, 

Agent for Florida Indians. 

Appalachicola, Feb. 12. 



Territory of Florida, 

Tallahassee, May 6, 1834. 

Elbert Herring, Esq. 

Commissioner of Indian A ffairs : 

Sir : I have performed the various duties assigned to me, by instructions 
from his Excellency William P. Duval, Superintendent of Indian Affairs 
in Florida, to whom or to whose successor a report of my proceedings 
should be regularly made, but on my arrival here from New Orleans, I 
found an interregnum in the Territorial Executive. Governor Duval's 
commission expired on the 17th of April, consequently he does not feel 
authorized to discharge the duties of the Executive office. I have waited 
several days in hope of the arrival of his successor ; disappointed in this 
expectation, and exceedingly anxious to avail myself of the privilege 
which by your letter to Gov. Duval, of the 24th March, I perceive I have, 
of visiting my family, I have the honor to make my report direct to you.. 
In pursuance of the instructions from the Superintendent of Indian Affairs 
in Florida, dated the 10th January last, I immediately repaired to the In- 
dian towns on the Appalachicola river, for the purpose of delivering to their 
parents and friends, the Indian boys who returned from the Choctaw aca- 
demy in Kentucky, and to obtain others to supply their place in that institu- 
tion. The document marked (A) herewith inclosed, contains an abstract 
description of the boys obtained, with my instructions to Mr. James W. Hen- 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



73 



derson, the gentleman selected by the superintendent to conduct them to 
Kentucky, a duplicate of which I transmitted by Mr. Henderson for the use 
of the academy, and retain a triplicate in my office. The abstract marked 
(B) exhibits the receipts and expenditures under the 6th article of the treaty 
concluded at Camp Moultrie, on the 18th September, 1823, between the 
United States and the Florida Indians. The abstract marked (C) exhibits 
the payment made to John Blunt- and Davy Elliott, under the 2d article ot 
the treaty, concluded at Tallahassee, on the 11th day of October, 1832, 
between the United States, and John Blunt, Osaa Hago, or Davy and Co- 
ha-thtock-co or Cochrane. And the abstract marked (D) exhibits the num- 
ber and description of the Indians who emigrated with the chiefs John 
Blunt and Davy Elliott. You will perceive by an examination of the last 
mentioned abstract, that John Yellowhair and his followers, not connected, 
with the Blunt nor Davy's band, have accompanied those chiefs. By 
reference to the additional article appended to the treaty, concluded at 
Camp Moultrie, on the 18th September, 1833, before referred to, it will be 
seen that the reserve set apart for Mulatto King and Emathlochee, was 
made to commence at a point on the Appal achicola river, to include Yellow- 
haii^s improvements. By the 1st article of the treaty, concluded between 
the United States, and Mulatto King, Tnstenuggy Hago. and Yellowhair, 
in 1833, those chiefs relinquished to the United States the above described 
reserve, in consideration of which, the United States, by the 2d article of 
the last mentioned treaty, " agree to grant and convey in three (3) years 
by patent, to Mulatto King or Vacar Persasey and to Tnstenuggy Hago, 
head chiefs of Emathlochee town, for the benefit of themselves, sub-chiefs 
and warriors, a section and a half of land to each, or contiguous quarter 
and fractional sections containing a like quantity of acres, to be laid off 
hereafter under the direction of the President of the United States, so as to 
embrace the said chiefs' fields, &c." Yellowhair's name is subscribed to 
the treaty, and yet it contains no provision in his favor, nor can I perceive 
that his signature to it is calculated to have any effect, except indeed, the 
relinquishment of any personal interest in his improvements which he had. 
The provisions in the 2d article of this treaty, intended to secure to " the 
said chiefs," the inclusion of their fields, &c. enures to Mulatto King and 
Tustenuggy Hago. At the meeting of the Appalachicola Indians, in Mulatto 
King's town, on the 9th of November last, the treaty was read»and criti- 
cally explained to the Indians on an intimation from Yellowhair claiming 
an interest, which the treaty does not give to him. He urged that it was 
the distinct understanding of all at the formation of the treaty, that he was 
provided for by it, and that all the Indians understood by the interpretation 
of it, that a mile square of land was secured to him and his people. All 
the chiefs present, including Mulatto King and Tustenuggy Hago, did as I 
understood confirm Yellowhair's statement. The interpreters on the occa- 
sion, Joe Miller, an Indian, belonging to Econchatte Micco's band, and Jim 
Walker, a negro, belonging to Mulatto King, stated that they so understood 
the treaty. On the discovery being made there was obvious excitement 
among the Indians. Joe Miller was very much alarmed, fearing the In- 
dians would put him to death for misinterpreting. These were the grounds 
of Yellowhair's appeal in a letter addressed to the Secretary of War, dated 
at that meeting, asking some allowance to aid in his then intended emigra- 
tion. Yellowhair was a member of the delegation that examined the coun- 
try, to which with Blunt and Davy and their band, he with his followers is 



■74 



[ Doc, No. 271. ] 



gone. I understood him to say that he was induced to explore that country, 
relying on the privilege which he believed he had of relinquishing his 
land to the United States, by which he would be enabled to defray the ex- 
penses of the emigration of himself and followers. These facts and cir- 
cumstances induced me to advise him to emigrate with his followers, and 
done so in the full persuasion that the Government, on a full view of the 
facts of the case, would make some provision for him. I offer these facts 
too in justification of my having included Yellowhair and his followers in 
the list of Indians to whom I ordered issues of provisions at Appalachicola 
bay. They had assembled there with Blunt and Davy and their band, 
under my advice, for the purpose of emigrating. Blunt and his people 
determined to remain until they should receive the promised annuity. 
His Excellency Gov. Duval thought with me, that as Blunt and his peo- 
ple had a right, according to the stipulations of their treaty, to expect pay- 
ment of the promised annuity, when they had assembled for the purpose 
of emigrating, liberality, justice, and policy required that the United States 
should afford them a reasonable allowance of provisions while waiting j 
alone for the promised payment. Thus Yellowhair and his followers were 
detained, for they were dependent upon Blunt and Davy for means to de- 
fray the expenses of their removal. Under such circumstances I assumed 
the responsibility of including Yellowhair and his followers in the issues of j 
provisions, which the superintendent authorized me to make to Blunt and 
Davy and their band ; satisfied that the Department of War, liberality, jus- 
tice, and sound policy will approve it. Yellowhair wavered somewhat, when 
after the lapse of time which transpired between the date of his application 
to the War Department, and the embarkation of the Indians for New 
Orleans, he was still unanswered. I told him that during the session of Con- 
gress the Departments were generally much pressed, particularly at the pre- 
sent session, and that I had no doubt his case would be favorably considered 
as early as practicable. I reminded him that Blunt and Davy and their band 
had consented to go on without receiving the annuity promised to them, on 
my giving them a solemn pledge that if the Department would furnish me with 
the necessary funds, and give me authority, I would pay it to them in per- 
son ; and I told him that I. or whoever else the Department may send to pay 
the annuity to Blunt and his people, can be ordered to pay to him any j j 
allowance which may be made in his favor. In conclusion I gave him a 
solemn pledge that I would urge his claims on the attention of the Depart- 
ment. Blunt and Davy loaned him in my presence, five hundred dollars, 
to aid in the removal of himself and followers, and he is gone with Blunt 
and Davy and their band. Believing that it was the intention of all the 
Indians concerned in the treaty, by which Mulatto King and Tustenuggy i 
Hago hold their present reserve, to interest Y eliowhair in the treaty, (which 
intention I have no doubt was frustrated alone by the misinterpretation of 
Joe Miller,) and in consideration of the magnanimity which Yellowhair 
displayed, allow me to express to the Secretary of War, very respectfully 
and very earnestly, a hope that some allowance will be made to that (as I 
think) injured -man. In my intercourse with, and management of the 
Indians committed to my care, I have made it a uniform rule to be prompt, 
just, frank, and explicit. On no occasion could I consent to deceive these 
people ; I would not only disdain to excite in this ignorant, dependent, and 
degraded race, hopes and expectations which I believe cannot be realized, • 
but I consider the leading characteristic trait (if I may so speak) of my 



[ Dec. No. 271. ] 



75- 



office is to be their friend, even to turning the scale in their favor in doubt- 
ful questions. I hope therefore that the solemn pledge which I have given 
will be an acceptable apology for the earnestness with which 1 urge this sub- 
ject on the attention of the Department. In my report addressed to the super- 
intendent, on the 20th of January last, I detailed a conversation which I had 
then recently held with the chief Econchatimicco, proposing the removal of 
himself, property, and people to the Seminole country, The only objection 
which he then suggested to the proposed removal, was the advanced period 
of the year when it was made. If I had then been at liberty to superintend 
his removal, and clothed with proper authority from the Department to 
make the final arrangment, Econchattimicco with his band would (I have no 
doubt) now be at, or in the neighborhood of the Seminole agency. But my 
duty required me to superintend the execution of the treaty with Blunt 
and Davy, which was long retarded by a variety of harassing circumstances 
which I could not readily control. When these at last were overcome, Blunt 
and his band discharged on their way to their new abode, and the super- 
intendent had received your letter of the 21st February last, approving the 
plan proposed by me to Econchattimicco, the season of the year was too 
far advanced to admit a hope of the possibility that he would consent to 
the proposed removal the present year. The Indians had not only planted 
but their crops were up and growing ; and it was utterly impossible for 
them to remove, plant and make a crop during the present year. There- 
fore on my return to New Orleans, instead of urging the proposition upon 
the oid chief, with a view to its accomplishment during the present year, I 
held separate conversations with him and Vacca Pechassie, or Mulatto King, 
in reference to their present situation and future prospects, in which I ex- 
plained to them with great minuteness and precision, their relation to civil- 
ized society while under the direct and immediate protection of the United 
States, and the change which that relation would undergo at the expiration 
of three years from the date of their treaties. I reminded them that the 
protection of the United States would be withdrawn from them, and they 
subjected to the Territorial jurisdiction according to the terms of their treaty: 
and explained to them the effect which the change would produce in their 
ancient polity ; that under the jurisdiction of the Territory, the Indian 
laws and chiefships would cease ; that subjected to the patrol, road and tax 
laws of the Territory, without the privilege of participating in the Govern- 
ment, they will be hauled before the judicial tribunals of the Territory to 
defend themselves against criminal prosecutions, pleas of debt and claims 
on their property, when they will not be able to avail themselves of the 
Indian laws nor Indian testimony, as the first will cease, and the latter not 
be admitted ; that they could not fail to perceive that they and their people 
would, under such circumstances, fall an easy prey, and in a short time be 
involved in utter ruin ; that their only chance to escape inevitable and 
speedy ruin, is to follow the example of Blunt, and to sell out to the United 
States, or relinquish their reserves according to the terms of their treaty, 
and migrate with the Seminole Indians to Arkansas. I informed them that 
I should soon visit my family in Georgia, where I expected to be permitted 
to spend the summer, and as the most essential service which I could pos- 
sibly do them was to give as my parting advice to them, to reflect seriously 
upon the subject during my absence, and on my return let me know their 
conclusion ; but if they came to the conclusion before my return, to pursue 
the course advised, to inform the sub-agent, Mr. Pope, of it, who I would 



76 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



instruct to write me immediately. They replied that they were satisfied 
of the correctness of my view of their condition and future prospects, and 
were gratified at the manner in which I had treated them on the subject, 
and they would seriously consider my proposition, and let me know the 
result on my return, if not before. Satisfied they are seriously contemplat- 
ing the necessity of their removal, allow me to suggest that definite instruc- 
tions upon the subject from the War Department may facilitate the object. 
I believe that propositions from Tustenuggy Hajo, relative to the emigra- 
tion of his band, are already before the Department. The abstract marked 
E, exhibits an account of the disbursements of this agency, so far as pub- 
lic funds have come to my possession for that purpose, from the date of my 
acceptance to the 30th of September, 1833, the end of the third quarter of, 
that year. The abstract, marked F, exhibits the disbursements during the 
first quarter, ending the 31st of December, 1833, and the abstract marked 
G, exhibits the disbursements made during the first quarter of 1B34. 
Abstracts, marked H, I. and K, are my accounts current for the quarters 
ending on the 30th September, and the 31st December, 1833, and the 31st 
of March, 1 834. I enclose to you the account of Stephen Richards against 
the United States Indian Department, for expenses which he incurred while 
in the performance of his duty as United States interpreter, under my 
orders, from the 25th of January, to the 15th April last. His service was 
indispensable in procuring Indian boys for the Choctaw academy, super- 
intending the assembling of Blunt, with his band, attending at Econchatti- 
micco and Vacca Pechassie's reserves, when the commissioner appointed 
by the court to take Indian testimony in the case of claim for Econchatti- 
micco Is negroes, visited those places for that purpose, and the arranging the 
emigration of Blunt and his band, and their final discharge at the city of 
New Orleans. This service required him to pass several times down and up 
the Appalachicola river, to and from the bay, and to New Orleans and back. 
The amount of the account, in money, from his own pocket, was 
expended by him and under my personal observation, except the sum of 
fourteen dollars and fifty cents, specified in my certificate, appended to his 
account; and the expenditures were unavoidable. He is a poor man, has 
a large family dependent upon him for support, and yet he has been very 
prompt and vigilant in the performance of his duty. 1 therefore beg leave 
to express a hope that the amount of his account will be promptly refunded 
to him, as he is ill able to lie out of the use of it. I present to you also, 
two accounts against the United States (Indian Department) in favor of D. 
M. Sheffield, sub-agent, for his travelling expenses while on special service, 
under the instructions of the superintendent of Indian affairs, amounting 
in the aggregate to fifty-seven dollars. Mr. Sheffield informs me that the 
Department has reduced his per diem allowance for travelling expenses 
while on special service, to two dollars per day; and rejected items in his 
account -of expenses while conducting Indian boys from Florida to the 
Choctaw academy in Kentucky, because the vouchers in support of them 
were signed by the mark of the individuals who made them, and exhibited 
no other evidence that those individuals could not write their names ; that 
it was generally impracticable to obtain certificates in support of those 
vouchers, as no third person was present ; that an allowance of three dol- 
lars per day for his expenses, while on special service, is not sufficient in 
this country to cover them ; and that the reduction of his per diem allow- 
ance for expenses, added to the rejection of the items referred to, frittered 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



77 



down his salary of five hundred dollars so low as to make it almost worth- 
less, and imposed on him the duty of resorting to some other pursuit. With 
-all this gentleman's numerous acquaintances he has a high character for in- 
flexible integrity, and genuine honor and honesty ; he is an efficient man, 
of steady and correct habits. I therefore insisted on his continuance in 
office, and promised that I would present his case fully to the Department, 
and that I had no doubt justice would be done to him. I enclose with his 
accounts some receipts for part of the expenses incurred during the time 
embraced in his accounts, which are submitted for the purpose of showing 
to the Department that the allowance of even three dollars per day is 
insufficient. If I am to remain in this office, I trust that the Department 
will secure to me the aid of this gentleman by extending .to him that liber- 
ality which I honestly think justice requires, as it is very important that I 
^should have the aid of an intelligent, vigilant, and highly honorable man. 
My own account for travelling expenses while absent from the agency on 
special service, under the instructions of the superintendent of Indian 
affairs, is also herewith presented, with an earnest request that the amount 
be transmitted to me as early as practicable, as I have very nearly exhausted 
my private funds in performing the special service referred to in my account. 
To enable me to avail myself of the permission to visit my family, the 
receiver of public moneys, General Call, has kindly consented to advance 
me the amount of my quarter's salary, which fell due the 31st of March 
last. I feel it due to myself, as well as to the sub-agent, to observe, that 
having had much special service to perform, we will be but poorly paid if 
the per diem allowance for our personal expenses should not be made to 
exceed three dollars ; as the difference against us on account of expenses, 
added to the loss we incur by lying out of the use of our money after it 
falls due, and the rapid wear and tear of clothing in a very rough service, 
will be a heavy deduction from our salaries. 1 have never before known 
any section of country where the indispensable support of man and horse 
formed so large an item of expenditure. I shall immediately set out for 
my residence in Georgia, where I desire to remain as large a portion of the 
summer as the public service will permit. 

I have the honor to be, 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient serv't, 

WILEY THOMPSON, 

Indian Agent. 



Seminole Agency, 

May 30, 1835. 

Sir: Your letter of the 29th April has been received. On the 9th of No- 
vember, 1833, there was a meeting of the bands of Indians on the Appala- 
chicoia river, held on the call of James D. Westcott, Jr. then acting 
Governor of Florida, which I attended with him, and pending the meetings 
I delivered to the Indians a speech, under his immediate superintendence 
and instructions. The substance of what was said by him, myself, and the 
Indians, on that occasion, was enclosed by Mr. Westcott to the Department. 
Part of my remarks reterred directly to John Yellowhair's desire to emi- 
grate with Blunt. At the same time, a letter was written by Mr. Westcott 



78 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



in behalf of Yellowhair, signed by the latter, and other chiefs, addressed 
to the Department, in which Yellowhair expressed his desire to emigrate 
with Blunt. To these communications, to which I beg leave to refer you, 
no reply was ever made within my knowledge. No one concerned in the 
transaction, entertained an idea that Yellowhair could be permitted to par- 
ticipate in the beneficial stipulations of the treaty with Blunt and Davy. 
Yellowhair submitted to the Department evidence, that through misinter- 
pretation at the formation of the treaty with Mulatto King, and Fuste Nug- 
oy Hajo, manifest injustice had been done to him, and he sought relief, and 
means to enable him and his followers to emigrate, by an appeal to the 
Government. I never received an intimation that the emigration of Yel- 
lowhair and his followers would not be sanctioned by the Government, 
until the arrival your letter, now before me. On the 6th day of May last, 
I made a report to the office of Indian affairs, in which I informed the De- 
partment that Yellowhair was gone with Blunt; in which I urged the 
claim of Yellowhair upon the attention of the Department ; and I subse- 
quently received from the Commissioner of the Indian office a letter, which 
informed me that Yellowhair's case was submitted to Congress at the ses- 
sion before the last, and in the Senate referred to the appropriate commit- 
tee. Since which I have heard nothing upon the subject, until the receipt 
of your letter, now before me. 

In your letter you say, " If the land is sold under the*second article, and 
these Indians remove to any other place than the Seminole country west, 
the United States have only to pay them annually their proportion of the 
annuity." 

In the third article of the treaty with Mulatto King, and Fuste Nuggy 
Hajo, " the United States stipulate to continue to them, theirfsub-chief, and 
warriors, their proportion of the annuity of five thousand dollars, to which 
they are entitled under the treaty of Camp Moultrie, so long as the Se- 
minoles remain in the Territory, and to advance their proportional amount 
of said annuity, for the balance of the time stipulated for its payment in the 
treaty aforesaid, whenever the Seminoles finally remove, in compliance ivith 
the terms of the treaty concluded at Payne's Landing, on the 9th May, 1832." 

1 have hitherto construed this clause of the treaty to mean, that the 
United States are bound to advance to those Indians their proportion of the 
annuity, for its unexpired term, in any other event than their removal to 
the country set apart for the Seminoles, when the latter should be finally 
removed; and not paid annually, as expressed in the paragraph quoted 
above. If I am right in this construction, then I shall take for granted, 
consulting the tenor of your letter, that Yellowhair, and his followers, 
will be entitled to an advance of their portion of the annuity, for its unex- 
pired term, when the Seminoles have completed their removal. If so, may 
Yellowhair receive and receipt for his followers, who are in Texas ? It 
seems to me that there can be no objection to this, especially as he is duly 
authorized to settle all business which was left unsettled by the emigrating 
bands. His and their portion of the last and this year, and for the unex- 
pired time of the annuity, when the Seminoles shall have removed, will 
relieve the poor fellow ; his situation is .now distressingly destitute. 

When Blunt, Davy, and Yellowhair, with their bands, had assembled 
at Appalachicola Bay, the latter became discouraged, because no answer had 
been received to his letter, or Mr. Westcctt's communication addressed to 
the Department, during the preceding November. I encouraged him to go 



[ Doc. No. 071. ] 



79 



on. with Blunt, and 1 done so, in the belief that, as the Department had not 
replied to those communications, some plan was in contemplation, by which 
relief would beaiforded to him and his followers ; and because I thought it 
desirable to seize any fit opportunity, to relieve a civilized community from 
a savage population, and thereby greatly benefit the savage himself. I now 
regret that I encouraged him to go, as the proceeding has met the disap- 
proval of the Department, and embarrassed Yellowhair. An ample apolooy 
will be found, I trust, in my honest zeal to effect what I considered a 
desirable object with the Government. 

A thorough examination of the correspondence with the Department,, 
upon this subject, will, I have no doubt, satisfy you that your letter as- 
sumes facts which do not exist. I therefore consider it due to the Depart- 
ment, as well as to myself, to withhold the communications which you have 
instructed me to make to Yellowhair, until I hear from you again upon 
the subject. 

I have the honor to be, 
Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

The Honorable Lewis Cass. 



Seminole Agency, 

March 31, 1835. 

Sir : Having availed myself of permission to visit my family, I returned 
to this place on the 20th instant, where I found your communication of 
18th ultimo, awaiting my arrival. 

The Indians having called a meeting at this place, to be held on the 27th. 
instant, General Clinch determined to seize that occason to read to the In- 
dians the President's message, addressed " to the chiefs and warriors of the 
Seminole Indians in Florida." . 

On the 27th the Indians began to assemble, and General Clinch and my- 
self availed ourselves of every opportunity to hold private conversation with 
the chiefs, for the purpose of making favorable impressions on their minds 
preparatory to the meeting in council. 

On the 27th we met about one hundred and fifty Indians, including the 
principal and several of the leading chiefs, in council, when I read to them 
the President's message and the treaties— enforced the President's message 
— explained the treaties, and concluded with an appeal to the chiefs, in fa- 
vor of their women, children, and common people. 

Jumper, who is the principal chief, law maker, and (as he is sometimes 
called) sense keeper, said that they had listened with attention, but that, as 
many of the chiefs were absent, they could not, then, make any reply to 
what was said to them. He begged that I would not make any report to 
the Government upon the subject, or (as he expressed it) send no talk to 
their Great Father the President, until we could have a full meeting of the 
chiefs in council. That meeting is to take place on the 20th of the ensuing, 
month, (April,) and every practicable arrangement is made to insure a full 
council. I have sent express tor the interpreter llichards, and for Holate 
Ematla, a principal chief, whom I have permitted to withdraw from the na- 
tion, in consequence of threats against his life. 



80 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



If there is any change in the temper and feelings of the Indians, it is 
favorable. And I indulge the hope that, by prudent management, they may 
yet be induced to remove voluntarily. 

I am much indebted to General Clinch, who, on all occasions, promptly, 
vigilantly, and efficiently aids me in my operations. 

In performance of the duty assigned to me. of investigating the claims 
against these Indians, under the treaty of Payne's Landing, it is necessary 
that I should possess, not only the documents which have been forwarded 
to the Department in support of individual claims, but to guard against im- 
position. I should have the use of the printed report, made by Gen. Preston 
on claims under the treaty of 1321, with the Creek Indians, and a copy of 
the report upon claims against the Creek Indians for depredations subse- 
quently committed, principally in Lee county in Georgia. The commis- 
sioner of the Indian office has recently informed me. that all the document- 
ary evidence relating to individual claims, will be shortly transmitted to me. 
bur as he makes no allusion to the printed pamphlets to which I allude. (I 
have requested copies.) I fear they have been overlooked. 

I have the honor to be, 

Very repectfully, 

Sir. vour obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Hon. Lewis Cass. 



Seml\ole Agency, March 31. 1S35. 

Sir : On my return to this agency I found your letter of 9th of February, 
in replv to mine of the 19th of the preceding- month, awaiting my arrival. 

Fully impressed with the correctness of the view which I have taken of 
the subject referred to in Mr. Steele's letter, addressed to me, (a copy of 
which I enclosed to you.) I be^ leave to refer you to my letter of this date, 
addressed to Mr. Steele, on this subject, a copy of which you have en- 
closed. 

General Clinch requests me to say. that he fully accords with the view 
which I have taken, and he adds, that an indulgence of the people to whom 
Mr. Steele alludes, in their claim to exemption from the obligations of the 
treaty, would afford an asylum to refugees from justice and absconding 
slaves, and be greatly detrimental to the Territory. 

I have the honor to be, 

Very respectfully, sir, 

Your obedient servant. 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Elbert Herring. Esq. 



Seminole Agency, March 31. 1S35. 
Dear Judge : Your letter of the 21st instant was duly received. I be- 
lieve I have heretofore informed you that I had submitted to the War 
Department the question involving the citizenship of the Indians employed 
in the rcuichio. on the Gulf coast, accompanied by a copy of your and 
Captain Buners letters addressed to me on the subject. 1 shall again write 
to the Department upon the subject, as I perceive it is not yet clearly un- 
derstood. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



81 



The word Seminole means runaway or broken off. Hence Seminole is 
a distinctive appellation, applicable to all the Indians in the Territory of 
Florida, as all of them run away, or broke off, from the Creek or Nuiscoge 
nation. The treaties made with the Seminole Indians embrace all the 
Indians within the Territory, except some bands on the Appalachieola river, 
who were provided for by a separate article in the Camp Moultrie treaty ; 
and, subsequently, by treaties entered into immediately between these bands 
z and the United States. It follows, therefore, necessarily, that all the others 
are embraced by the general designation of Seminoles. These are bound 
by the treaty of Payne's Landing. The fact that some of them have not 
come within the limits of the reservation assigned to them by the latter 
treaty, proves nothing more nor less than thai the Indians have failed in 
that particular to comply in good faith with t leir treaties at Camp Moultrie 
and Payne's Landing. Those Indians who are on the Gulf coast and about 
the Everglades, were as much bound to come within the limits of the 
Indian reservation as the Indians who lived and were raised about Talla- 
hassee and Hick's old town, on the Su wanna river : and it will strike you. 
that the latter , had as much right to remain without the present Indian 
limits as the former ; and if the Indians who lived about Tallahassee and 
Hick's old town had remained there until now, it is obvious that they would, 
in that case, have the same right to exemption from the obligations of the 
treaties as those on the Gulf coast and about the Everglades. That the 
Indians within the reservation have not claimed those on the coast, and at 
other points without the reservation, is no argument that those who have 
not come within the Indian boundary have a right to remain out, as such 
an argument would oppose the reasonable and just maxim, that " no indi- 
vidual shall take advantage of his own wrong." The true question is, 
have the Seminole nation the right to claim those that are without the 
Indian boundary 1 A thorough examination of the whole subject will, it 
seems to me, compel every one to answer in the affirmative. It follows, 
then, necessarily, that if the nation have a right to claim them, they have 
no right to exemption from the obligations of the treaties. So much for a 
construction of the treaties, and the rights of those people under them. Now> 
as to considerations of expediency involved in the question. The people 
referred to have sprung from, and are connected with, these Indians. There 
is a constant intercourse between the Indians residing within and those 
without the Indian boundary. There are Indians here who have relatives 
there. If the Indians at the ranchio are exempt because they have never 
lived within the present Indian reservation, a much larger number about 
the Everglades, and what is called the Hunting Ground, would be equally 
entitled to exemption precisely for the same reason. Then let the decision 
once be made, even should the Indians know that a decision is sought ex- 
empting those on the coast and at other points beyond the Indian boundary 
from the obligations of the treaties, and one half, if not two-thirds, of these 
people would, in a very short time, be beyond their limits, claiming the ex- 
emption. Thus, the Territory would have a considerable Indian popula- 
tion quartered permanently upon it, and the benign designs of the Govern- 
ment towards these Indians be frustrated. I trust that you and Captain 
Buner will, on a reinvestigation of the subject, be impressed with the cor- 
rectness and propriety of the view which I take of the subject, and that you 
will aid me to ward off the evils that would result from any other view. 
The man with you* and those with Captain Buner, are permitted to con- 
6 



82 [ Doc. No. 271. ] 

tinue in their present employment until I call for them, which, in all pro- 
bability, will not be earlier than next spring. 

A full assemblage of the nation is to take place on the 20th proximo, 
when, in all probability, something decisive will be decided upon. It is of 
the utmost importance that the chief, Holate Ematla, with his people, should 
be present on that occasion. They are, it is believed, on the Gulf coast, in 
the neighborhood of St. Marks : some say about the mouth of the Woek- 
sassah, others about the mouth of Suwannee, or between that and St. 
Mark's, while others say they are about the mouth of the Oaklockney. You 
inform me that you are preparing to make an official visit to St. Mark's. 
If you can start immediately you can probably afford me efficient aid in 
the accomplishment of the desirable object. If an active trustworthy 
Indian, acquainted with the section of country alluded to, could go with 
you, he would be able, no doubt, to see Holate Ematla, and tell him to. be 
here with all his people without fail. Provisions can be furnished to the 
Indian by Major Zantzinger. I hope you will be with me during the sit- 
ting of the council. 

Present my respects to the Major and the other officers. 
With unfeigned respect, 

Your friend and humble servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 



Seminole Agency, January 19, 1835. 

Sir : In my report to the Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Florida 
(now in your office) made on the 1st of January, 1834, I adverted to the 
existence of several unauthorized settlements of negroes, Indians, and Spa- 
niards, (lawless bands) on the peninsula of Florida. The enclosed copies 
of two letters afford additional information upon the subject, while at the 
same time they present a question which it is my duty to submit for con- 
sideration to the Department. I have no hesitancy in deciding for myself, 
that all the Indians, and descendants of Indians in that region are properly 
Seminole Indians belonging to this tribe, and subject to all the treaty pro- 
visions and restraints which are binding upon the Seminoles. They de- 
scended from the Seminoles, are connected with them by consanguinity, 
wandered off without authority, and are occupying a section of territory 
to which they have no right whatever. 

It is' believed that many of the negroes connected with those lawless 
bands are runaway slaves. I have been recently informed that there are 
roving bands of the Seminole Indians, on and about the Everglades, that 
have not been within the Indian boundary for several years past ; and that 
a considerable number went the last fall, to what is called the Hunting 
Ground, about the Everglades, perhaps a hundred miles beyond the boun- 
dary, to prosecute their annual hunt. 

So far from admitting that any of those Indians are exempt from the 
-obligations of the treaties with the Seminoles, it seems to me important 
thai an expedition should be set on foot for the double purpose of driving 
those Indians within their boundary, in time for the commencement of 
their migration west: and to capture those negrces, many of whom it is 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



83 



believed are runaway slaves, and thought by their owners to be in the 
Seminole country. 

I any sir, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Elbert Herring, Esq. 



Tampa Bay, January 10, 1835. 
Dear General : Accompanying this, you will receive a letter from 
Captain William Buner, proprietor of the extensive fishery in the Waters of 
Tampa bay, of whom you have heard me speak. The subject to which 
he calls your attention, occurred to me soon after your departure, and I had 
concluded to write immediately without having seen Captain Buner ; his 
arrival here enables him to add his suggestions on the subject. Taking 
the circumstances he states, and others into view, I have no doubt you will 
coincide in the opinion that there are a number of Indians who are not 
properly within the proposed measure of boundary restriction ; at all the 
fisheries along the coast from Jupiter on the east, to Tampa on the west, 
there are a number of Indians and half bloods who owe no allegiance to, 
and of whom none is claimed by, the Seminoles, though descended from 
them. They were born in the different ranchos, or fishing places, mostly 
speak Spanish, and in some instances have been baptised in Havana. 
They were 'Spanish fishermen under the Spanish Government of Florida. 
They are not recognised by the Seminoles ; have never received, and have 
not been permitted to receive any part of the Indian annuity, and are not 
considered as under the protection of, or amenable to the Indian laws, and 
contrary to the maxims of British national law^ are permitted to expa- 
triate. 

Over persons of this description, it appears to me the measures and 
regulations with regard to Indians, cannot with propriety be extended. 
They are entirely identified by habit, occupation, and intermarriage with 
people of another nation, of different pursuits and modes of life, and 
incapable of supporting themselves by ordinary Indian means. By driving 
them from the sea, you would take from them their only resource, and 
place them in absolute want, without aid from some unprovided source. 
To show further that these persons have not been considered as Indians, by 
the character of their employment, two of those in Captain Buner's service 
are registered as seamen on a vessel roll of equipage in the custom-house 
at Key West, and another is enrolled among my revenue crew, and is a 
first rate seaman, having followed the sea from a boy. 

Yery truly yours, 

AUGUSTUS STEELE. 

General Thompson. 



Tampa, January 9, 1835. 
Sir : I was disappointed in not meeting you at Tampa. I made every 
exertion to get there from my fishing place at Manatee river the moment I 
heard the agent and troops had arrived, to enable me to state to you ver- 
bally my situation, and the present state of the Indian population on the 
coast, as well as my fishing rancho. 



84 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



I request your attention and answer to enable me to act correctly, I 
-have consulted Judge Steele and Major Zantzinger, and they have advised 
me to communicate with you. 

At my rancho, or fishing place, I have in my employment about ten 
Spaniards and twenty Spanish Indians, most of the latter have been born 
and bred at the rancho, on the coast, speak the Spanish language, and have 
never been in the country ten miles in their lives ; their only mode of 
living is by fishing with the different Spanish companies, from August 
until March ; during summer they cultivate some small spot of land in 
the neighborhood of their working place. They do not hunt, and depend, 
upon their cast nets for support; there are many more at the other ran- 
chos, say Caldees, Cayo. Pelow , Ponte Rasa, and Eslava ; only myself 
and Caldees have worked this season on account of the dull sale of fish at 
Havana, owing to the late cholera. All my white Spaniards have Indian 
families, and some ©f them have children and grandchildren. Many of 
the Spanish Indians have wives from the nation. There are several In- 
dians that have been temporarily employed from the country during the 
running of the fish, and are now discharged. 

My season will close the first day of March, when all hands will be paid 
off, except my foreman, who takes care of the place. There are also many 
visiters occasionally at my rancho : I will order them up to their nation. 

Will you please instruct me what I can do to forward the views of the 
Government, and if possible not to break up the rancho before the season 
is out. I remain your humble servant, 

WILLI AM BU3NER. 

General W. Thompson, Indian Agent. 



Seminole Agency, January 19, 1835. 
Sir : In the prosecution of my duties in the investigation of claims 
against the Seminoles under the treaty of Payne's Landing, it has occurred 
to me to be somewhat important that I should have some data by which to 
detect any fradulent attempt to exhibit claims which may have been already 
disposed of. Will you do me the favor to enclose to me a copy of the- 
claims as exhibited and adjusted under the treaty of 1821 with the Creek 
Indians ; and a copy of the exhibition and adjustment of claims of a late 
date against the Creek Indians. The adjustment of the first was by Gene- 
ral Preston, 1 think : I do not remember who adjusted the other, but I 
know that printed copies of each were laid before Congress. The first 
may be important in the examinations of the claims pressed by the Creek 
nation, under the treaty of 1821, for negroes now in possession of the 
iSeminoles. 

Several claimants who have presented claims under the treaty of Payne's 
Landing, allege that evidence in support of their claims was submitted 
to, and is now in, your office. The old chief, Vacca Pichassie, preferred a 
claim, and transmitted his evidence to the Department. I have to repeat 
my request that all such documentary evidence may be transmitted to this- 
agency. 

I herewith transmit to you a copy of a correspondence relative to M?. 
George Center. v 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Elbert Herring, Es<£. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 85 



P. S. John Yellowhair has returned from Texas accompanied by one 
mf Blunt's sub-chiefs ; they bring information that Blunt died after his arri- 
val in Texas 7 and that John Yellowhair is chief of the bands. Yellowhair 
and his associate are, as I am informed, duly authorized to receive the 
annuity due to those bands, the amount of Blunt's claim for the robbery by 
Stafford, and the amount of which Beattie swindled Blunt and Davy, and 
to settle ail the business which was left by those Indians in an unsettled 
state. Yellowhair requests information upon all these subjects, and to 
know whether any provision has been made for him. I informed him of the 
.arrangement to pay the annuity, and that his particular case was submitted 
by the Department to Congress at the last session, but not finally acted on. 
As to the robbery of Blunt by Stafford, and the swindling of Blunt and 
Davy by Beattie, I could only say that I hope something will yet be done. 
Yellowhair is on the Appalachicola. 

Respectfully. 

W. T. 



| Fort King, December 24, 1834. 

Sir: About the last of July or first of August last, Mr. George Center 
•came into the Seminole nation as a trader, under a license from Mr. West- 
cott, late secretary and acting superintendent of Indian affairs in Florida, 
which license, as Mr. Center- informed me, expired in September last. I 
•consented that ke might remain until your arrival, with the distinct under- 
standing that I would recommend him to you, but that he should leave the 
nation should you refuse to license him. On your arrival my power as 
agent ceased. Beli eving he has not yet applied for a license, and that he 
"is, consequently, here without legal permission ; and satisfied, as I am, that 
his continuance in the nation will be detrimental to the Indians, and tend 
to embarrass the execution of the treaty of Payne's Landing, it becomes my 
duty to withdraw from him my protection, and to recommend his immediate 
removal from the nation. 

I am, most respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

W. M. GRAHAM, 

Captain Ath infantry* 

General Wiley Thompson, 

Agent Seminole Indians* 



Seminole Agency, December 24, 1834. 
Sir : Shortly after my arrival here in October last, Captain William M. 
Graham, United States army, informed me of the circumstances under 
which you came into this nation as a trader, and, at the same time recom- 
mended you to me for a license. Some time subsequently, on my adverting* 
to the circumstance of your not having made the anticipated application, he 
observed to me that you had then recently mentioned the subject to him t 
that he had no doubt you would in a short time comply with the law upon 
the subject ; and I considered it due to you to give you an opportunity to 
procure the security which, to obtain a • licence, the law requires. Your 



86 



[ Doc. No. £71. ] 



failure even to mention the subject to me during the time that has elapsed 
since my arrival, added to a letter addressed to me by Captain Graham, a 
copy of which you have enclosed, imposes on me the duty of apprising you 
that you can no longer be permitted to exercise the rights and privileges of 
a trader in the Seminole nation. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON, 

U. S. Agent Florida Indians, 

Mr. George Center. 



Near Fort King, December 25. 1834. 

Sir : Your favor by Sergeant Kenton was received. I owe you ail 
apology for not soliciting a renewal of my license some time past, and at 
the same time assure you my not having done so has not been from thought 
or wish to set your authority at defiance. I shall leave this morning for 
Micoanopa to procure teams to haul away my goods : and having lost the 
protection of Captain G. must request that my goods may remain till such 
time as I can accomplish the above object. 

Please inform me if the above arrangement will be agreeable. 

Respectfully yours. 

GEORGE CENTER. 

To General Wiley Thompson, 

United States Indian agent, 



Seminole Agency, December 25. 1834. 
Sir : I have received your note of this date. The arrangement sug- 
gested of your goods remaining in deposite where they now are until you 
can procure the means of transporting them out of the nation, is agreeable 
to me. 

Very respectfully, 

Your humble servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Mr. George Center. 



Department of War, 
Office Indian Affairs, June 1. 1832. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communica- 
tion of the 26th ultimo, to the Secretary of War, together with its enclo- 
sures. 

From the papers before me. it does not appear that the slave Hector, for 
whom Mr. Wanton claims compensation, was ever in his possession. But 
taking it for granted that he was, and that he is now a fugitive, or abscond- 
ing slave among the Seminoles, it is a case not for the action of this De- 
partment, but for the decision of Congress. 



[ Dec. No. 271. J 



87 



I will write, however, to the agent, Major Phagan, to use his official in- 
fluence to prevail upon the chiefs to surrender the slave to Mr. Wanton. 
In failure of that expedient, would it not be preferable to seek redress from 
the seven thousand dollars, set apart for the satisfaction of such claims, by 
the treaty lately concluded by Colonel Gadsden? 

I have the honor to be, (fee. 

ELBERT HERRING. 

To his Excellency Wm. P. Duval, 

Governor of Florida. 



Department of War, 
Office Indian Affair s y July 10, 1832. 
Sir: The late treaty with the Florida Indians, makes provision for 
sending a deputation of seven chiefs, with an interpreter and agent, to 
explore the country intended for their future residence west of the Missis- 
sippi. The total expenses of that exploring party, from their departure to 
their return, are estimated at $3,000, but will not probably exceed $2,750. 
Fifteen hundred dollars will be remitted to you, to be handed over to the 
conducting agent of the party, before its departure ; and for which advance, 
you will take a proper voucher and forward it to the Department : that sum 
will be quite, or nearly sufficient, to defray the expenses of the expedition 
till its return to New Orleans. If, however, the agent should sooner re- 
quire additional funds, he will draw on . the Department, giving notice 
thereof, and taking care to keep expenditures within the narrowest compass. 
In the estimate of $3,000, every possible expense has been included, em- 
bracing the compensation of the agent ; and in no event must the expen- 
ditures exceed that amount, but will probably fall short of it. Major 
Phagan, if he wishes it, will conduct the party, as agent, and he will be al- 
lowed two dollars per day, while engaged in the service, besides his ex- 
penses, and in addition to his present pay as agent. If he should decline 
going, on these terms, you will be pleased to appoint some other trusty and 
suitable person to accompany them, allowing him not more than three 
dollars a day besides expenses, and as much less as you can effect. It is 
important the party should set out in season to be in Arkansas early in 
October next, that the accompanying agent may make a report to the 
commissioners, who it is expected will be appointed, and then be there for 
the adjustment of all Indian affairs west of the Mississippi. As it is the 
settled policy of the Government to' reduce the expenses of the Indian 
Department, to the lowest limit, it is deemed unnecessary to appoint a sub- 
agent during the absence of Major Phagan. 

I have the honor to be, 

ELBERT HERRING. 

To his Excellency William P. Duval. 



War Department, 

July 16, 1832. 

Sir : You were notified from the Indian Bureau, on the 10th instant, 
that commissioners would probably be appointed to visit the country west 
of the Mississippi. I have now the honor to inform you, that the nomina- 
tion of persons to perform that duty, has been confirmed by the Senate, 



88 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



The gentlemen appointed, have been instructed, if they accept, to repair to 
Fort Gibson by the 1st of October next. As these commissioners have 
been entrusted with the adjustment of all questions relating either to the 
indigenous or emigrant tribes, you will order Major Phagan, or whoever 
may accompany the Seminole deputation, to proceed direct to Fort Gibson 
and report to the commissioners ; and, in his subsequent movements, he will 
be guided by their instructions. 

I have the honor to be. 

JOHN ROBB, .4. S. 

His Excellency William P. Duval. 



Department of War, 

August 21. 1832. 

Sir : I have had the honor to receive your several letters of the 4th 
instant. 1 regret that the letter of the 10th ultimo, from the Indian Bureau, 
miscarried, as it contained full instructions in relation to the exploring party 
who. under the provisions of the late treaty, are to visit the country west 
of the Mississippi. The expenses of this deputation have been estimated 
here at three thousand dollars, and the expenditure from the time of their 
departure to their return, will not, in any event, exceed that sum, and must 
be brought as far within it as practicable. A requisition has issued in your 
favor for fifteen hundred dollars, which amount it is supposed will be suffi- 
cient to defray all the expenses of the party, until they reach New Orleans 
on their return. Should additional funds be sooner required, the conductor 
of the deputation will draw upon this Department for such sum as may be 
absolutely indispensable. Major Phagan is permitted to accompany the 
deputation. His compensation, which is included in the estimate of three 
thousand dollars, has been fixed at two dollars a day, in addition to his 
necessary expenses and his pay as agent. If he should not consent to go 
on these terms, you will select some suitable person, who will be allowed 
three dollars a day besides his actual expenses. The conductor of the 
party will report himself without delay, on his arrival at Fort Gibson, to 
the commissioners. Governor Carroll, Governor Stokes, and Mr. Ellsworth, 
and conform to such instructions as he may receive from them. As the 
annuity will be paid before Major Phagan "s departure, and only the ordi- 
nary business of the agency will require attention during his absence, it is 
considered unnecessary to appoint a sub agent. I enclose a copy of the 
treaty with the Seminoles. Should Doctor Hamilton decline to vaccinate 
the Appalachicola Indians, you are authorized to select a surgeon to per- 
form that duly; and in that event, fifty dollars will be added to the one 
hundred dollars named in the letter of the 16th ultimo, as the limit of the 
expenditure for this object ; but the compensation of the surgeon will not 
exceed that allowance to Doctor Hamilton. The appropriation made by 
Congress being small, the Department cannot assign for the Indians of your 
superin ndency, a larger portion. I enclose more of the vaccine matter. 

I have, &c. &c. 

JOHN ROBB, 
Acting Secretary of War. 

To his Excellency Wm. P. Duval, 

Tallahassee, Florida. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



89 



Extract of a letter from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, to his 
Excellency William P. Duval, dated March 16, 1833. 

" The measures adopted by you for the expulsion and punishment of the 
intruders, were called for by circumstances, and have received the cordial 
approbation of the Department. It would be very gratifying if those 
oppressors and wrong-doers should receive merited but legal chastisement^ 



Department of War, 
Office IndiaJi Affairs, February 21, 1834. 

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your several letters 
of the 20th' and 26th ultimo, and of the 2d instant, enclosing communica- 
tions to yourself, from the Seminole agent, General Thompson, and will 
reply to their several contents, so far as may seem to be requisite. 

In relation to the difficulties set forth in those letters, with which the Go- 
vernment will have to contend in removing the Seminoles to the territory 
allotted to them west of the Mississippi, I will remark that they were fore- 
seen, and will require correspondent^ energetic measures in accomplishing 
the object. 

The policy of the Government in congregating the Indian tribes west of 
the Mississippi, was adopted after much reflection, and is persisted in, after 
the experience of years has developed the advantages of the system. The 
Government uses no compulsion with the Indians. It is left to their free 
choice, m the first case, to go or stay ; but after that choice is fully and 
freely made, and they have obligated themselves, by treaty, to remove, the 
Government will employ the necessary measures to enforce their removal. 
The Seminoles deliberately entered into a treaty and stipulated to go west, 
provided an exploring party to be sent there by them, should report favo- 
rably, as to the measure. -The exploring party was sent, and did report 
favorably. The Commissioners west, made an arrangement with the 
Creeks, in reference to the removal of the Seminoles, and a tract of land 
was assigned for their residence. Under these circumstances, the Govern- 
ment will feel itself constrained to compel their removal. You will make 
this known to the Indians, that they may be under no mistake, nor enter- 
tain any delusive hope of remaining. If there should be any interference 
from any quarter, in opposition to such intended removal, it will not only 
be unavailing, but legal measures will be immediately taken for the arrest 
and punishment of those concerned in it. 

For the decision in relation to the annuity money due to Blunt and 
Davy's band, I beg leave to refer you to my letter of the 12th instant. 

It will not be expedient to insist on a ratable deduction from the thir- 
teen thousand dollars for that portion of the two hundred and fifty-six 
persons for whose emigration those chiefs had stipulated, and who may 
not embark with the others. Let the whole amount be paid to the chiefs, 
they will then be responsible to their people and will have no pretext left 
for further delay. 

The proposal of General Thompson for the removal of the Chief Econ- 
chatimico to the plantation attached to the agency, meets with the entire 
approbation of the Department. Such removal would probably secure the 
property of the chief, prevent disorder, and lead to the emigration of his 



90 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



own, and the remaining bands. These several considerations, strongly re- 
commend the measure, while the offer of General Thompson proves his 
own disinterestedness. 

The payment of a portion of the money at New Orleans, as proposed by 
General Thompson, and agreed to by Blunt and Davy, and such arrange- 
ment being made public, will much lessen the exposure of Blunt by making 
him a less desirable object of plunder. 

According to your request, the fee of twenty-five dollars, which you gave 
Judge Smith for professional services, will be allowed to you; and" credited 
in your account. 

I have the honor to be, 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

ELBERT HERRING. 

To his Excellency William P. Duval, 

Tallahassee, Florida. 



Department of War. 
Office Indian Affairs, February 26, 1834. 

Sir: I have the honor to enclose the copy of a letter from Lewis Mattair 
to the Hon. J. M. White, in relation to certain negroes, said to have been 
stolen by the Indians, from Mrs. Dewees, and asking that measures may be 
taken for their restitution, or for payment of their value. 

You will be pleased to investigate all the circumstances connected with 
this case, and report the facts to the Department, as early as possible, that 
the subject may, if necessary, be submitted to Congress at its present session. 
I have the honor to be, 

Yery respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

ELBERT HERRING. 

To his Excellency William P. Duval, 

Tallahassee, Florida. 



Department of War. 
Office Indian Affairs, March, 10, 1834. 

Sir : I have the honor to enclose a copy of a petition addressed to the 
President of the United States, and to communicate, by direction of the 
Secretary of War, his order in relation to it. 

You will, in the first place, institute a thorough investigation into the 
charges against the Seminole Indians therein contained. If they are sub- 
stantiated, you will inform them, that the President cannot sanction such 
injuries to our fellow citizens ; that he expects they will immediately restore 
the slaves and other property, stolen by them, or make ample remunera- 
tion to the owners ; and in future, refrain, from similar conduct, which will 
assuredly be promptly and justly punished. He requires them to check 
at once, all forcible attempts upon the white citkens, and to avoid all inter- 
ference with their persons or property. 

As the treaty, concluded with them, will soon be ratified, the President 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



91 



expects that they will immediately prepare for their removal to the Creek 
lands, west of the Mississippi, as no delay will be permitted in the execu- 
tion of the provisions of the treaty. 

You are also requested to report the result of your investigation; and 
your proceedings in this matter, as early as practicable. 

I have the honor to be, 

Very respectfully, 

Your humble servant, 

• ELBERT HERRING. 

To his Excellency William P. Duval, 

Tallahassee, Florida. 



Department of War. 
Office Indian Affairs, December 14, 1833. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 
22d ultimo, respecting the Florida Indians. 

It is for the reasons stated in your communication, independently of other 
considerations, very important that speedy measures should be taken for 
the emigration of the Seminoles. The treaty, however, has not yet been 
ratified by the Senate, and the Department is. therefore, without the means 
and power of making preliminary preparations. Soon as an appropria- 
tion shall be made for the purpose, the necessary steps will be taken for 
the execution of the treaty. 

The merits of Captain Page were known to the Department previously 
to your favorable mention of him. 

It is deemed inexpedient at present to appoint a physician to vaccinate 
those Indians. 

The Secretary of War, was much gratified with your zealous exertions 
in preventing the introduction of ardent spirits among the Indians. It is 
to be regretted that all good men do not cordially co-operate to arrest an 
evil destructive of happiness, and pregnant with crime. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

ELBERT HERRING. 

Captain William M. Graham, Fort King, 

Seminole Agency, Florida. 



Letters from Capt. Wm. M. Graham, to the War Department, trans- 
mitted to Congress in answer to a call from the House of Represen- 
tatives, of May 21, 1836. 

Letter dated, 20th November, 1833. 
u u 22d, « « 

Letter from Department to Captain Graham, Commissioner of Indian 
Affairs, of December 14, 1833. 



92 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



Department of War, November 22, 1834. 
My Friends : Your agent, General Thompson, has forwarded to me an 
account of the proceedings which took place at the council held with you 
at Fort King on the 28th ultimo, and of the speeches then made by you. 
I have laid these before your great father, the President, and I am instructed 
by him to say to you that he has been very much surprised at the temper 
which you have manifested. You made a treaty with Colonel Gadsden, 
by which you agreed, in the event of certain chiefs named by you being 
satisfied with respect to the country west of the Mississippi, and with the 
favorable disposition of the Creeks living there ; that you would remove to 
that country upon certain conditions stated in the treaty itself. These 
chiefs visited that country at the expense of the United States, and being- 
satisfied on the subjects above mentioned, concluded an arrangement with 
the commissioners of the United States west of the Mississippi for consum- 
mating the whole matter. By these stipulations the United States are 
under obligations to perform certain conditions entered into tor your benefit, 
and you were under obligations to quit your present residence, and to re- 
move to the west within three years, and a portion of you designated in the 
treaty being those occupying the Big swamp, and other parts of the 
country beyond the limits as concluded in the second article of the treaty 
formed at Camp Moultrie creek within the year 1833. But your delegation 
not having acted sufficiently early to enable the United States to ratify the 
treaty, so as to commence4he removal in 1833, it will necessarily be post- 
poned till 1835, at which time it must be commenced, and that portion of 
your people removed who are designated for the first removal' in the treaty. 
The United States stand ready to fulfil all their engagements, and arrange- 
ments will be made with that view this winter. The treaty requires you 
to remove. You have ceeded your country, which will soon be sur- 
veyed and sold, and which will leave you without a residence where 
you now are. The effort to remain will be destructive to you, and the 
President will not listen to such a proposition. It is dishonorable to you, 
and such as ought not to be entertained. Do not delude yourselves, listen 
to your agent. He has spoken to you words of truth and wisdom, and his 
words will come to pass. As there may be bad men among you, and as 
in tact, I am informed, that some of your people, opposed to removal, 
have threatened the lives of those who are disposed faithfully to carry the 
treaty into effect, the President has directed that a body of soldiers be sent 
into your country to protect the well disposed, to arrest and deliver over to 
the proper authority those who are guilty of illegal acts, and to take such 
measures as may be proper and just to enforce the fulfilment of the treaty. 
I advise you, therefore, to prepare yourselves against the spring to carry 
into effect, on your part, the promises made to Colonel Gadsden. Agents 
will be with you to execute all that is required on the part of the United 
States. Shut your ears to bad counsels, keep your promises and all will be 
well. You will be removed to a country already occupied by your people, 
where the climate and soil are good, where the white people cannot trespass 
upon you, and where you may increase and improve. 

I am vour friend. 

LEWIS CASS. 

To the Seminole Chiefs, Florida. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



#3 



Seminole Agency, May 30 1832. 
Sir : There is a sub-chief of this nation named Tulkee Mathla, who is 
desirous of going with the deputation to Arkansas ; he has two sons and 
two uncles residing in that country, and I think it would be a good policy 
to let him go, as it will not increase the expenses but a mere trifle. He is 
a man of some influence among his people, and having kindred in the 
country would make him more anxious to move. Please let me know your 
will on this subject 

• I have the honor to be, 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 
Not signed, but in the handwriting of Major Phagan. 
Hon. Lewis Cass, 

Secretary of War. 



Department op WAR*June 24. 1S32. 

Sir: A letter dated the 30th of May, without a signature, but supposed 
to be from you, upon the subject of adding another chief to the delegation 
about to visit Arkansas from your agency, has been received. 

The appropriation for defraying the expenses of the delegation has not 
yet been made by Congress, and if it should be made, the President is not 
willing that the number of delegates should be increased. 

Very respectfully, 

LEWIS CASS. 

Major John Phagan. 



Department of War, August 6, 1S32. 
Sir : Your letter of the 13th ult. has been received. The annuities for 
the Seminole Indians were remitted to Governor Duval, on the 10th of 
July, and he has also been instructed as to the arrangements to be made for 
the visit of the exploring deputation to the country west of the Mississippi. 
He is, therefore, prepared to give you the necessary directions. Every case 
of improper interference by the whites should be made known to the super- 
intendent, that he may take the requisite measures to ascertain the facts and 
collect evidence in support of them, to be submitted to the Department for 
its action . 

I am, &c. 

JOHN &OBB, 

Act'g Sedry of War, 

To Major John Phagan, 

Indian agent, fyc. <$'C^ 



94 



[ Doc. No. 271. 1 



Department of War, 
Office Indian Affairs, June 4, 1832. 
Sir: In relation of the claim of Edward M. Wanton, for his slave Hec- 
tor, mentioned in your letter of February 8, 1832, to Governor Duval, and 
by him communicated to the Department, it does not appear to be of a 
character requiring the action of this branch of the Government. There 
is no affidavit of his having been stolen and of his value. If there had 
been, and you had demanded him, or his value, from the tribe, and they 
had refused, then it would have been a proper case to. be acted upon here. 
Under the circumstances it seems advisable to use your efficient influence 
with the chiefs for the surrender of the slave. In failure of that it might 
be expedient to seek compensation from the seven thousand dollars appro- 
priated by the late treaty with them for the satisfaction of such claims. A 
company of the United States troops at Tampa bay will be removed to 
Camp King for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of the intercourse 
acts, and to prevent by care and vigilance depredations and hostilities that 
might otherwise be committed. And in aid of this precautionary measure 
you will ( be pleased to exert your official authority to keep the Indians 
within the limits of their reservations. 

With great respect, 

Your humble servant, 

ELBERT HERRING. 

To Major John Phagan, 
Indian Agent, fyc. 



List of letters transmitted to Congress ) in ansicer to a call from the House 
of Representatives of May 21, 1836. 

James .D. Westcott, Jr. to Secretary of War, dated May 16, 1832. 
" " Commissioner of Indian Affairs, " Nov. 5, 1833. 
* " Secretary of War, « April 27, 1833. 



Tallahassee, Florida, 

May, 16, 1832. 

Sir : I have the pleasure of informing you that I received, on yesterday 
evening a letter from Colonel Gadsden, dated " Payne's Landing, E. F. 
May 9th,'' in which he states that he has " succeeded in making a condi- 
tional treaty with the Seminoles." The conditions, he says, are " a pre- 
vious examination of the country, by certain chiefs named ; and should their 
report correspond with the representations made them, the "agreement is to 
be binding, and the Indians will prepare to remove. They will have, how- 
ever, three years for the whole' tribe to emigrate ; one third annually, com- 
mencing with those residing most northwardly, and most contiguous to the 
white settlements." 

He does not state any further particulars. 

I am, very repectfuily, 

Your obedient humble servant, 

JAMES D. WESTCOTT; Jr. 

General Cass, ./Secretary of War, 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



95 



Executive Offce, Tallahassee, Florida. 

April 27, 1833. 

Sir : Major Phagan, CIndian agent,) who accompanied the deputation 
of Seminole chiefs in their recent visit to the western Creek nation, under 
the treaty of Payne's Landing, concluded last fall, has just arrived at this 
place, on his way to the agency, and made a report to me, which I have 
the honor to enclose. I have given him the permission solicited. In doing 
so, I have been controlled, not merely by the opinion that his arduous and 
valuable services for the last year entitied him to it, but also by the consi- 
deration, that no other person (in my belief) could be of as essential service 
to the Department as him, if at Washington, while the arrangements are 
being made for carrying the treaties into effect. I have no hesitation in 
recommending him as the most proper person in Florida, to go to the west- 
ward with the nation, and to assist in their removal, and I know Governor 
Duval concurs in this opinion. 

As stated in another letter to the Department, dated to-day, I shall see 
General Gadsden in a few days, and if, after consulting with him, it shall 
be deemed advisable, will again communicate to the Department on the 
subject of the arrangements for the removal of the Appalachicola and Semi- 
nole Indians. 

I have the honor to be, 
Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

J. D. WESTCOTT, 
Acting Gov. of Florida. 

Hon. Lewis Cass, Secretary of War. 



Seminole Agency, August 12, 1832. 
Dear Sir : I have this day received your letter and instructions, with 
a draft on Charleston for the annuity, and for other purposes. You say 
after paying $4000 to the Indians, the balance is to be brought on to you. 
You have allowed |>15Q for provisioning the Indians. There are from 3,500 
to 4000 souls, and* you say, if necessary, that sum may be applied to feed 
them, for a term of twelve or fifteen days, which is as short a time as it can 
be done in. Now, Sir, you or the Department have taken a wrong view of 
the subject, for the amount allowed will not provision the Indians two days ; 
and besides, I am afraid they will not come to receive their annuity when 
they hear that the Government will not find them while they are at the 
agency. I must inform the Indians that the Government will not find 
them ; it would be cruel to call them together, and keep them ten or twelve 
days without any thing to eat, and I have great fears that a circumstance of 
that kind might make them break off the late treaty • and, Sir, if you have 
it in your power, do not restrict me, as it regards the feeding them at this 
time, as it will, in all probability, have a bad effect. If you have no con- 
trol over this matter, send a copy of my letter to the Secretary of War, on 
this subjecx, as early as you can. Colonel Gadsden, and myself, labored 
hard to bring about the treaty, and I should be sorry to see it miscarry at, 
this period, for the pitiful sum of five or six hundred dollars, and would 
rather pay it myself than it should, if I had the means. I have appointed 



96 



[ Doc, No. 271. ] 



the 15th September for the Indians to assemble at the agency. I should be 
glad if you could come to the agency at that time. You could have great 
influence with the Indians, as regards their standing to the treaty. Captain 
Graham, and his officers, Doctor Hamilton and Mr. Rogers, joiii in this re- 
quest. If you cannot come, please let me know what I have to depend 
upon, as regards finding the Indians. I hope you will order Mr. Sheffield 
to the agency. It is necessary that he should be here during the payment 
of the annuity. 

Yours, sincerely, 

JOHN PHAGAN, 

Indian Agent. 

Gov. Duval. Tallahassee. 



Executive Office, 

Tallahassee, Nov. 5. 1S33. 

Sir. : In my last communication to you, I stated that I was about to visit 
the Seminole nation, to pay the annuity, &e. I have performed that duty, 
and on my return home, after an absence of six weeks, was taken sick, in 
consequence of the exposure suffered on the journey down the Peninsula, 
under the sickly sun of September. Hence I have not heretofore written 
to you. During the course of next week. I shall transmit my accounts 
for settlement, as Governor Duval is expected to arrive from Kentucky in 
a few days, who must approve them. Conformably to the instructions of 
the Department, I have retained the salary of Major Phagan, late Indian 
agent, second quarter of 1S33, and that portion of his salary for the third 
quarter, up to the time of General Thompson's appointment from him, 
and will turn it over to Governor Duval, on his arrival. On my visit to 
the agency, I regret to state. I discovered evidences of other frauds and im- 
proper conduct on the part of Major Phagan. which I will communicate to 
the Department with my accounts, with which, in fact, they will be neces- 
sary as explanations. I discovered that, in regard to the employers of the 
agency, he had sub-contracts with them for much less than the amount 
they receipted for to the Government, and that even for the amount of these 
sub-contracts, he was in default to them. By payment to them only of the 
sums due for this year on their sub-contracts, a considerable amount has 
been saved to the Government, and can be applied, if necessary, to the dis- 
charge of his other defalcations, or taken to pay the deficieuces to tfreir 
employers, most of whom are poor creatures, illy able to lose. I have found, 
also, he was in debt to several Indians, and to Abraham, one of the Semi- 
nole interpreters : to the contractor for beef at the agency, for provisions at 
the payment of the annuity in 1S32 ; and Colonel Blunt has a claim of 850 
for arrears of his annuity, receipted for to him. I have promised these em- 
ployers, and Abraham, and the Indians, to state their case to the Depart- 
ment, and I trust, if there is any excess after discharge of Major Phagan's 
arrears to Government, it will be obtained for them. 

General Thompson, the new agent, arrived here a few days since. He 
is greatly liked, and much advantage is anticipated from his appointment. 
He stays hpre a few days, and goes over to the Appalachicola on the 9th, to 
assist me in getting Blunt off I am happy to be able to say, that from a 
conversation with Blunt and Davy, a few days since, I now anticipate no 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



97 



difficulty in getting him off in a few weeks. His son has not yet arrived 
from Kentucky, but is said Governor Duval will probably bring him. 

I have this day written to the Secretary of War, advising of a draft for 
the amount to fee paid under the treaty, having been negotiated here, so as 
to be prepared to pay them as soon as Blunt's son arrives. In regard to the 
advance of the commutation, for their portion of the annuity under the trea- 
ty, I will advise you more particularly, after my talk with them on the 9th, 
when I shall be able to correct the data now in my possession, so as to 
calculate its amount correctly. 

I do not apprehend any very' considerable difficulty with regard to the 
emigration of the Seminoles. Jumper, and Mickanohoy, Ya-ha-ha-jo, As- 
see-a-hala, or Powell, Charley Ematla, and some half a dozen other chiefs, 
requested me to ask that they might be permitted this winter to visit Wash- 
ington, to see the President, and converse with him on the subject. 

Mickanohoy is king of the nation, and is opposed to going. John Hicks, 
the war chief, heads the other party. Jumper, the orator, or sense keeper, 
is on both sides. I really think if the appropriation of $1,500 or $2,000 
was made to defray the expenses of a select deputation, (to be designated by 
the agent,) to go to Washington, it would be advantageously expended. I 
will, however, write you more fully on this subject in my next. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

JAMES D. WESTCOTT, Jr. 

Sec. Act. Gov. 

Hon. E. Herring, Com. hid. Aff. Washington. 



Fort King, November 22, 1833. 

Sir : I herewith enclose you a communication for the Secretary of War 
on the subject of the Seminole Indians. 

I am, with great respect, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM M. GRAHAM, 
Captain Ath Infantry, Commanding. 

Col. R. Jones, 

Adjutant General, U. S. A. Washington City. 



Fort King, Florida, November 20, 1833. 
Sir : In the long absence of a)l other acting authority, as Indian agent, 
I feel it my duty to state, that the condition of the Seminole Indians, so far 
as relates to their usual supplies of corn, &c. is such as may induce the 
Department to hasten their emigration. Nor do I feel apprehensive of any 
desire of delay upon the part of the Indians, whenever the Government 
shall think proper to urge their removal. I can safely say that even at this 
season of the year, they are as destitute as the want of blankets and pro- 
visions could make them. The season is unusually cold, and I believe we 
may foresee for them, a winter of suffering. These are facts which the 
Department may not esteem unimportant, when considered in connection 
with the most expedient mode and time of their removal. The Secretar 
7 



98 



[ Doc. No. 271. J 



Of War is aware that the order for the vaccinating the Seminoles as yet has 
never been obeyed, the reason of which is that the amount of one hundred 
dollars, that was directed by the acting Secretary of War, to be paid Dr. 
John Hamilton, the gentleman appointed to peform that 'duty, was con- 
sidered insufficient. No physician in this country will undertake the vac- 
cination of the Seminole Indians (upwards of four thousand souls) for a 
less sum than four or five hundred dollars, or 4 or 5 dollars per day. The 
extent of territory upon which the Indians reside, is so large that it could 
not be completed in much less time than three months. There is an officer 
of the army, who I beg to recommend to your notice : as the emigrating or 
disbursing agent, he has long been stationed near the nation — speaks their 
language, and possesses their most unbounded love and respect ; I mean Capt. 
John Page, who is now engaged in removing the last party of Choctaws. 
and will get through with them, I understand, in December next. I am 
convinced that Captain Page, 4th infantry, could remove the Seminole In- 
dians, with less difficulty to the Government, and more satisfaction to the 
Indians, that any other individual. Dr. John Hamilton will remove from 
this Territory in a few days, and if the Government think it advisable to 
have Ihe Seminole Indians vaccinated, previous to their removal, I would 
most respectfully recommend that Dr. Egbert S. Barrows, of Jacksonville, 
Duval county, East Florida, who has been employed as ihe attending citizen 
surgeon at this post, from the 7th of May to this time, and has some 
knowledge of the habits. &c. of the Indians, should be appointed to perform 
that duty. 

I am, with great respect, 

Your most obedient servant, 

WILLIAM M. GRAHAM, 

Captain 4th Infantry. 

Hon. Lewis Cass, 

Secretary of War. 



Fort King, November 22, 1833. 

Sir : More than a year has expired since the absence of the Indian 
agent. In the mean time a treaty has been compeleted, and the condition of 
the Indians seems particularly to have required more than ordinary atten- 
tion. Respectfully, therefore, I would represent the majority as passively 
submitting to the treaty. Some who are opposed, and the remainder advo- 
cating and promoting the views of the Government. I am sorry to add, 
that there is an influence out of the nation, exercised by those who hope to 
become benefitted by thwarting or delaying their removal, which has required 
much trouble and attention. The order of 1832, prohibiting the intro- 
duction of spiritous liquors, upon any account, was received at the agency 
last July, the sale of spirits in the nation had been prohibited, and nearly 
totally stopped, previous to the reception of that order, but the little " grog 
shops" along the boundaries are reckless of its influence, and the laws of 
the Territory are too lame to remove the evil. Upon this subject, however, 
1 addressed the district attorney, (Douglas,) as requested by the order, giv- 
ing a detail of our difficulties, but do not believe any heed has been given 
to them. 

The last season has proved unpropitious for the production of their crop 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



99 



of corn, which has even fallen far short of a year's supply ; but at this early 
period they have actually exhausted their whole year's dependance, and from 
the scarcity of game in the nation, are nearly in a state of starvation : at all 
hazards I must represent their state as one of suffering. And it is my be- 
lief that they have been more improvident, from the idea that they were to- 
be daily liable to be ordered to prepare for removal. Their condition in 
relation to blankets is no less lamentable. There is another subject, a mea- 
sure of the Government, which has not been consummated agreeably to 
former directions, viz : the vaccination of the Indians, the amount of 100 dol- 
lars, the sum allowed to Dr. Hamilton, was unquestionably entirely too 
small for the time, exposure, and trouble required. 

A physician will be under the necessity of visiting every town, conse- 
quently it will require the best part of three months to satisfactorily vac- 
cinate from 4,000 to 5,000 Indians, inhabiting an extent of territory, perhaps 
two hundred miles square. Should the Government order their vaccination. 
I would respectfully recommend *Dr. E. S. Barrows, of Jacksonville, Flo- 
rida, for that duty. He has attended this post for the last six or seven months, 
and I esteem him in every point of view well calculated to do the Government 
good and faithful service. 

I have taken the liberty to represent these facts, believing that they may, 
when considered, in some measure excite a stronger belief in the necessity 
of making speedy preparations for their removal. If it be the intention of 
Government to remove them the next summer, there should, in my opinion, 
be an agent or officer here to prepare them for such an event. In a few 
weeks many of them will recommence planting, after which they will 
plead the excuse that they do not wish to leave for another year. I do 
consider now that the sooner they are aware of the Government's intention 
the better it will be for both parties. 

Captain John Page, of 4th regiment infantry, has been stationed in the 
immediate vicinity of the nation for seven years, and from his knowledge of 
the language and country, and the high respect which the Indians bear him,l 
think him peculiarly qualified to take charge of their enrolment and emi- 
gration. I speak positively upon this point, that from my own knowledge,, 
that man cannot be found, who can remove with so much satisfaction to the 
Indians, and so much advantage to the Government, as Captain Page there- 
fore, I do respectfully recommend him to your notice as special agent. 
I am, most respecfully, yours, &c. 

WILLIAM M. GRAHAM, 
Captain 4dh Infantry, commanding. 

Judge Herring, 

Chief of the Indian Bureau, Washington city. 



List of letters transmitted to Congress, in answer to a call of the House, 
of Representatives, of May 21, 1836. 

Horn J. H. Eaton, to Secretary of War, dated March 8, 1835. 

John Phagan, to J. D. Westcott, <• April 27, 1833. 

Captain J. B. F. Russell, to Com. Ind. Affairs, " Sept. 2, 1834. 
General D. L. Clinch, to Secretary of War, " August 24, 183-5. 

* Dr. Hamilton cannot attend to the vaccination. 



100 



[ Doc. No. £71. ] 



Gabriel W Perpall, to Secretary of War, 
S. C. Stambaugh, " " 

H. K. Hollesaan, to Com. Ind. Affairs, 
L. Gill eland, to Secretary of War. 
L. G. Miland, « « 
Koby Mcintosh, and other Creeks, to Sec. of War 

E. B. Gould, " 
Malachi Hagan, U 
Adj. General, to Com. Ind. Affairs, 
Major John Phagan, to Secretary of War, 
Acting Secretary of War, to John Phagan, 

u i: a 

" " Seminole Chiefs 



dated October 14, 1835. 
« Sept. 2, 1833.. 
" Sept. 14, 1835. 
" July, 1835. 

February 24, 1836. 
June 5, 1S34. 
June 6, 1834. 
October 7. 1835. 
Nov. 23. 1835. 
July 25, 1834. 
June 21, 1832. 
August 6 1832. 
May 30, 1832. 
Nov. 22. 1834. 



Tallahassee, March 8, 1835. 

Dear Sir : I have received your letter, with its enclosures, relative ta 
the removing the Seminole Indians, under the provisions of the treaty of 
1832, but which was not ratified until 1S34. I pray you, does not this cir- 
cumstance raise a doubt whether, by strict rule, the treaty can be considered 
to be valid and binding? Our Indian compacts must be construed and he 
controlled by the rules which civilized people practice, because in all our 
actions with them, we have put the treaty making machinery in operation 
precisely in the same way, and to the same extent, that it is employed with 
the civilized powers of Europe. The rule practiced upon by us, has been, 
and is, that the ratification shall take place within either an agreed time, or 
a reasonable time. When Florida was ceded in 1819, the Cortes failed to 
interchange ratifications within the prescribed time, and afterwards, at a 
..subsequent session, it was assented to by the Spanish Cortes. The sense 
of this Government was. that the first ratification made by the Senate was 
inoperative ; and again the subject was submitted by Mr. Monroe, for the 
action and approval of the Senate. This appears to me to be a precedent 
which runs parallel with this Indian compact. It says, one-third shall 
remove the first year, viz: early as practicable in 1833, and one-third in 
the next and the next 1834. '35. Now, until 1834. when the ratification 
took place, the treaty was a dead letter. It is in their power now to plead, 
and say, we were ready in 1833 and 1834, and hearing nothing of your 
determination, we had a right to suppose that yon did not mean to stand 
by the treaty, and accordingly our minds have changed. With civilized 
nations, I think the plea would be available ; and if so, the Indians should 
have the benefit of it. 

Were these people willing, voluntarily, to remove, (though such seems 
not to be the case) the whole difficulty would be cured, and no evil could 
arise. But as military force is about to be resorted to, it is material that 
the Government, before making such appeal, be satisfied that right and 
justice is on their side, and that they are not engaged in the execution of a 
treaty, which, if void, is no part of the law of the land. I feel so strongly 
-the force of this objection, and am so desirous that General Jackson should 
avoid every thing of supposed error, that I shall to-day, unauthorized as I 
am, write to General Clinch, and request him not to act with force, until he 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



101 



shall hear again from you. This he may probably do ; and hence, the pro- 
priety of fowe considering my suggestions, and advising him early as pos- 
sible. 

Should you at Washington, who have books to resort to to solve the 
doubt 1 have mentioned, come to the conclusion that it is tenable, why then, 
the subject'Of the removal, and the manner of it, is unnecessary to be exa- 
mined. An attempt must then be made to go into some new negociation. 
If there be nothing in the proffered objection, then the best mode of starting 
them away recurs. 

The employing a military force will be an act of war, and the Indians 
will embody and fight in their defence. In this event, you will want such 
an imposing force as shall overawe resistance. The few companies you 
have ordered, will not produce this result. They will serve but to begin 
the fight, and to awaken angry feelings, so that in the sequel, the militia 
will have to be called, which will end in the butchery of these miserable 
people. Send a strong imposing regular force, which can be commanded, 
and prevented from doing more than actually is needful to be done ; and 
then that force, judiciously acting and forbearing, may do much. But send 
only a handful of men, and difficulties will come upon you. 

The next thing will be, to have suitable transports of seven or eight feet 
draught, tying at Tampa bay, well provisioned to receive them ; for sure 
as you seek a passage over land, they will desert into the swamps, and 
elude your pursuit. They are afraid to go by land. Bad men will raise 
up false accounts, arrest, and throw them in jail, whereby to enforce pay- 
ment. The fate of their chief, Blunt, last year, at New Orleans, they fear, 
will be theirs. Taking them by water to the Mississippi river, and there 
placing them in boats, with positive orders not to land or stop at any town 
or city, will prevent this disturbance to them, in three or four days the 
voyage can be made from Tampa to the Balize at a much reduced cost, to 
what a land travel northwardly would amount to. 

There is another difficulty in the minds of these people, and it is this* . 
A separate tract, out of the Creek lands, has been set apart for their home. 
There is a ratified treaty in your office, made by General Stokes, Ellsworth, 
and Sehexmerhorn, with the Greeks, which authorizes the Seminole loca- 
tion. While negotiating with the Indians last year, at Washington, I un- 
derstood that the Creeks disowned this act, and had sent word to 'the Semi- 
nole bands, that while they were willing to receive them in their limits as 
a portion of their nation, they would not suffer them to enjoy any separate 
allotment of their soil. This, too, has intimidated them, and is, I dare say, 
the essential cause of their reluctance to go off. To cure this, either the 
Creeks west should be gotten to say, that the allotment made shall be for 
the exc!usive ; separate, use of the Florida Indians ; or the latter should be 
prevailed upon, for some adequate compensation, to agree to go and amal- 
gamate with the Creeks. 

Another mode of prevailing on this people to remove, would be, to give 
orders to the troops to prevent them from raising corn this year. This is 
almost as severe a remedy as employing your bayonets. But the effect 
will be, that, towards autumn, their necessities will compel them to depart. 
To go, or to starve, would then be the question. 

General Thompson was here a few days since, and found a letter for him 
Jrom the Department. He should not be addressed here, but at the Semi- 
nole agency, distant from this place, I believe, 150 miles. 



103 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



This Indian question of removal is one that should be managed with 
great caution and care ; that the enemies in Congress, ever ready to find 
iault, may have no just and tenable ground on which to rest their mur- 
murs. Tread cautiously then ! The people here want the lands on which 
they reside, and they will urge a removal fas aut nefas ; and the Big 
Swamp which, in the treaty, is declared to be the first of their country to 
be vacated, is of high repute, and is that on which the eyes of speculators 
are fixed. But whether they shall have it this year or the next, or the 
next thereafter, is of less importance to the country than that any thing 
should be done calculated to impair the character of the Government for 
justice, and for equitable and fair dealing. Whence the necessity of any 
speedy removal? Presently, if let alone, these Indians will go of their own 
accord, because they cannot avoid it. To stay is to starve ; and nature, and. 
its demands, will soon tell them more and better, and' more convincing 
things on this subject than yon and the President can write. Then they 
will go, and go without any interruption to the quiet and harmony of the 
country. Now, with all your efforts, and the army to aid you, they could 
not be carried off, and gotten to their western homes, before June or July. 
Then, no crops could be raised, and for two years they will be without 
provisions. The preferred, and preferable course I think, will be to send 
amongst them active and intelligent men, to court them to what is right, in 
the hope that, during the year, their minds may be so prepared as to be 
induced to depart during November at least, that they may reach their 
homes in time to raise corn the succeeding year. On the whole, and to 
conclude a tiresome letter, I offer this advice ; avoid the exercise of force 
as long as possible, and let it be the only, the last sad alternative, and then 
let not, by any means, the militia be appealed to; they will breed mischief f . 

With great respect. 

J. II. EATON. 

Hon. L. Cass, Secretary of War. 



Tallahassee, March 8, 1835. 

Sir : I have received from the Secretary of War a letter asking me to 
suggest to him any views I might entertain as to the removal of the Semi- 
nole Indians. Enclosed in his communication was a copy of a letter 
addressed by you to the Adjutant General, dated 22d January, 1835. A 
reply to it by the Secretary, of the 16th of February, with a talk from 
the President, also dated 16th of February. 

In reply I have offered my opinion freely and frankly ; and amongst 
other things suggested, whether the treaty of 1832 be not void, for want of 
timely ratification. If this be so, it will be unfortunate that the military 
force of the country be actively employed. 

In my letter I have said, " by the next mail (unauthorized) I shall write 
to General Clinch, and request him not to employ force toward the removal 
until he shall again hear from you. He may, perhaps, under all the circum- 
stances accord to my request, and hence the necessity of your speedily 
informing him of the course he shall pursue. If, under the orders given, 
you shall think you can practice forbearance, until the Secretary is again 
heard from, I shall be glad, because my opinion is, there is greater safety in 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



103 



the course ; but of this you alone are to judge, under the responsibility of 
<the orders which have been forwarded to you. 

Very respectfully^ 

J. H. EATON, 

To Gen. Clinch. 



Tallahassee, April 27, 1833. 

Sir : 1 arrived here this morning on my return from the journey, com- 
vmenced last September, with the deputation of Seminole chiefs to the west- 
ern Creek nation. The whole deputation have returned safely. On yes- 
terday I sent them from St. Marks, by water, to the agency. I have the satis- 
faction of informing you, that while at Port Gibson, after viewing the coun- 
try assigned them by the United States commissioners, the chiefs entered 
into a definitive treaty with the commissioners, by which the Seminole 
nation are to remove to the country assigned them, according to the treaty 
■at Payne's Landing. By this definitive treaty, of which I enclose a copy, 
it is expressly stipulated, that, " the nation shall commence the removal to 
their new home as soon as the Government will make arrangements for 
their emigration satisfactory to them." 

I shall, on to-morrow, return to the agency by land. After staying there 
perhaps a week, I wish to proceed to the city of Washington, in order to 
make a detailed report to the Government of matters connected with the 
visit of the deputation to the Creek nation, to settle my accounts with the 
Government for the journey, and to suggest many things as id advise with 
the Indian Department, and make arrangements for the speedy removal of 
the nation. 

I hope they will all be got off by July or August at farthest. My absence 
from the agency will not exceed, at farthest, six weeks; and if, in the mean 
time, the annuity is received, it can be paid by Mr. Sheffield, the sub-agent, 
or retained until I return. I must, therefore, solicit a letter, giving permis- 
sion to visit Washington for the purpose stated. 

I have the honor, <fec. 

JOHN PHAGAN, Indian Agent. 

His Ex. James D. Westcott, jr. 

Acti?ig Governor, $*c\ 



Petersburg, Georgia, 

September 2, 1834. 
Sir : I have the honor to inform you that agreeably to your instructions, 
I have had an interview with General Wiley Thompson, and that in com- 
pany with him, leave here forthwith for the performance of our duties in 
Florida. 

Very respectfully, 

Your most obedient servant, 

J. B. F. RUSSELL, 
Captain II. S. A. 

To E. Herring, Esq. 

Commissioner Indian Affairs, Washington. 



104 [ Doc. No. 271. ] 



Fort Marion, St. Augustine, 

August 24, 1835. 

Sir : In forwarding to you the enclosed document, 1 beg leave to make 
a few remarks, although the subject to which it relates is, itself, of no great 
importance, yet it may have an important bearing on the present quiet and 
future happiness of these children of the forest. They are, from peculiar 
circumstances and long habit, suspicious of the white man. it is hard to 
induce them to believe that all the efforts and operations of the Government 
are intended for their own good. The question of a separate agency was 
again and again brought forward by the chiefs last winter and spring, and 
appeared to be considered by them of the first importance to their future 
interest, prosperity and happiness ; and it was at the earnest and repeated 
solicitations of the chiefs, that Lieutenant Harris and myself consented to 
incorporate their wishes on that subject, in the. arrangement made with 
them in April last. Great pains have been taken to convince them, that 
the agent lor the Creeks w r est of the Mississippi, would watch over and 
protect them and their interests, in common with that of the Creeks, but I 
fear without effect. It is a law of nature for the weak to be suspicious of 
the strong. They say the Creeks are much more numerous and powerful 
than they are ; that there is a question of property, involving the right to 
a great many negroes, to be settled between them and the Creeks ; and that 
they are afraid justice will not be done them, unless they can have a sepa- 
rate agent to watch over and protect their interests. The manly and 
straight forward course pursued towards them by Gen. Thompson, appears, 
to have gained him their confidence, and they have again petitioned the 
President to make him their agent, and have requested me through the 
immediate commanding officer at Fort King, to forward their petition with 
such remarks as my long acquaintance with their views and interest would 
authorize me to make. The experiment they are about to make is one of 
deep interest to them. They are leaving the birth place of their wives 
and children, and many of them the graves of those they held most dear ; 
and is it not natural that they should feel, and feel deeply, on such a trying 
occasion ; and. wish to have some one that they had previously known, 
whom they could lean on, and look up to for protection ? In closing these ' 
few hasty remarks, I feel it my duty to state it as my decided opinion, that 
the appointment of General Thompson as their agent, even for two or three 
years, until they are settled in their new homes, will have a very happy 
effect in carrying out the humane and benevolent plans of the Govern- 
ment, in which the interest of the Territory is so deeply involved. 
I am, with high respect, 

Your most obedient servant, 

D. L. CLINCH, 
Brevet Brig. Gen. U. & A. Com\g. 

Honorable Lewis Cass, 

Secretary of War. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



105 



At the request of the within named principal and sub-chiefs of the Semi- 
nole nation, the undersigned officers of the army stationed at Fort King, 
met them in council on the 19th of August, 1835: 

Present. 

Principal Chiefs. Sub-Chiefs. 



Hoiati Amacnla. 


Billy John. 


Charly Amathla, 


Cosatchi Amathla. 


TucMnsti llajo. 


Yahai Amathio. 


Coahajo. 


Yahai Fixico. 


CoimatKi lvlico. , 


Emathlochi. 


Foshachi Mico, 


Tustinuc Hajo. 


Tustinuc Hajo. 


Action Hajo. 


Otulki Amathla. 


Tustinuc Maha. 


JUJ 11 y JLJL J-vy iVO o 


Powshn i 1 n 


Assiola or Powell. 


Albusahajo. 


Chocati Fixico. 




Ochi Hajo. 




Cheti Haiola. 




Cosa Tustinuggi. 




Tacosa Fixico. 




Can chat ie. 




Tastanuggi. 



Hoiati Amathla. the principal chief, adddressed the officers as follows, 
viz : 

"My Friends : We have come to see you to talk with you on a subject 
of great interest to us. We want- you to open your case to us and tell our 
great Father, the President, the words his children speak. 

"We made t\ treaty at Payne's Landing to go to the west ; Ave were told to 
send some of our principal chiefs to examine the country, and if they ap- 
proved it, that the treaty should be complete ; they went and found the 
country good. Whilst there, they had a talk with General Stokes and the 
commissioners ; they were told that the Seminoles and Creeks were of the 
same family ; were to be considered as the same nation ; and placed under 
the direction of the same agent. They answered that the Seminoles were 
a large nation, and should have their own agent as before ; that if our 
Father, the President, would give us our own agent, our own blacksmith, 
and our ploughs, we would go to this new country; but if he did not, we 
should be unwilling to remove ; that we should be amongst strangers : 
they might be friendly or they might be hostile to us, and we wanted our 
own agent whom we knew, who would be our friend, who would take care 
of us, would do us justice, and see justice done us by others. The com- 
missioners replied that our wishes' were reasonable, and that they would 
do all they could to induce our Great Father to grant them. Our lands 
at the west are separated from those of the Creeks by the Canadian, a great 
river; and we think the Creeks should have their agent on one side, and we 
ours on the other. 

"We have been unfortunate in the agents our Father has sent us. Gen. 
Thompson, our present agent, is the friend of the Seminoles ; we thought 
at first that he would be like the others, but we know better now ; he has 
but one talk, and what he tells us is the truth; w r e want him to go with us; 
lie told us he could not go, but he has at last agreed to do so, if our Great 
Father will permit him ; we know our Father loves his red children, and 



106 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



will not let them suffer for want of a good agent. This is our talk, whicfe 
we want you to send to our Father, the President, hoping that we may 
receive an early answer." 
The council then adjourned. 

The undersigned beg to be excused for expressing their opinion on the 
foregoing proceedings. The subject of a separate agency has been an 
engrossing and all important one with the Seminoles ; they attach to it a 
consideration which, perhaps, it does not merit ; but we are persuaded that 
its concession to them will be attended with the happiest results : it will 
confirm those who are already friendly, and be the means of conciliating 
others who are hostile or at least neutral. Under this view of the case, we 
cheerfully unite with the foregoing chiefs, that General Wiley Thompson 
be appointed their resident agent. 

In justice to General Thompson, we feel called upon to say, that he ha* 
done every thing in his power to dissuade the Indians from the course they 
have pursued in this matter ; he assured them they would have at the west 
an agent who would do them justice and protect them in their rights ; and 
further, that it was an appointment he did not solicit, but could not reject 
it, if by accepting it he could advance their interests and facilitate their fu- 
ture operations. 

A. C. W. FANNING, Bt. Lt. CI U. S. A, 

ROBT. ARCHER, Asst. ISur. 

JOHN FARLEY, Is* Lieut. 1st. Artly. 

G. EL TALCOTT, Lieut. 3d Artly. 

E. A. CAPEON. Lt. 1st. Art. 

J. W. LINOUM, Capt. 3d Art. 

C. MELLON, Brt. Capt. 2nd Art. 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS. Lt. Disby. Agt. 

JOHN GRAHAM, Lt. ith Lift. 



Seminole Agency, September 7, 1835. 
Sir : I have made up my report upon the claims submitted to me, under 
the 6th article of the treaty with the Seminoles, and have suspended your 
claim. 

For your information and benefit, I here give you a transcript of my 
remarks upon the evidence submitted by you. 

The affidavit of Mr. G. W. Perpall, (No. 1,) contains no evidence in sup- 
port of the claim. It only repeats the declaration of the claimant and the 
neighbors. It (the claim) is suspended to give the claimant an opportu- 
nity to obtain the evidence of the neighbors and forward it to the Depart- 
ment. 

This should be done as early as practicable. 

Very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Mr. Philip Weadman. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



107 



St. Augustine, September 30, 1835. 
Dear Sir : Having a claim on the Indians for horses stolen from us by 
them, application being made to the Indian agent, Col. Thompson, with 
such proof as could be had then, he has thought proper to request further 
proof, as you will see by his letter within, but it so happens that five of the 
neighbors who could certify are no more, (since dead,) the only one we 
could obtain is Mary Henchman, who has declared before a justice ot the 
peace herewith. 

In hopes you will order justice to be done to us. 

Respectfully, 

Your h amble servant, 

GABRIEL WM. PERPALL. 

Hon. Lewis Cass, 

Secretary of War, Washington City. 



Personally appeared, Mary Henchman, and made solemn oath, that some- 
time in 1814, she saw four horses and a colt in possession of the Indians, 
which horses said Indians had stolen from the plantation of Gabriel W. 
Perpall, at Mount On veil in Toncoka. These Indians took on° said horses, 
and the owners Gabriel W. Perpall and Philip Weadman never got them 
back, as this deponent believes, but wholly lost them. This deponent 
lived at the plantation at the time and well knew the horses and the facts 
connected with their loss. She saw the Indians take the horses. The 
leader among them called Indian Jim, a that time of the Indians 

about , this Indian also had his son with him called young Jim. 

These horses were : 

1. A bay horse, branded S. R worth $50 or $60. 

2. A sorrel gelding, branded S. P. worth $60 or $70. 

3. A sorrel mare with a yearling colt, worth both together from $80 to 
$100. 

4. A cream horse, worth $50 or $60 

The two first horses above described, belonged to G. W. Perpall. the two 
last with the colt to Philip Weadman : and further deponent saith not. 

her 

MARY x HENCHMAM. 
mark. 

Sworn before me, this 29th October. 1835. 

JOS. S. SANCHEY, 
J. P. St. Johrts County. 



Washington, September 2, 1833. 
Sir : I enclose you the treaty, made by the commissioners with the Semi- 
nole delegation, at Fort Gibson, in March last, assigning the Seminole na- 
tion a country west of the Mississippi, with the proceedings in council upon 
that subject. The basis of this arrangement is fully explained in the late 
treaty, made with the Creek Indians, and the report of the commissioners of 
April 2d, submitting it to you for the consideration of the President and 
Senate ; and it is unnecessary for me to do more now on this point, than 



10S 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



call your attention to these papers. I will however take the liberty of respect- 
fully and earnestly urging the speedy removal of the Seminoles from Flo- 
rida, to the new home provided tor them, in the Creek country, by this 
treaty. The land allotted to them is of the very best quality in the Terri- 
tory, and. was selected by themselves, after a long and careful examination, 
made with the advice and assistance of the commissioners, after the con- 
clusion of the Creek treaty. This arrangement, may, therefore, be consi- 
dered a happy confirmation of all the engagements made between the United 
States and Seminole tribe, with respect to their location west of the Missis- 
sippi river. But you are aware of the superstitious feelings of these 
people ; you know, too, how easily those feelings can be operated upon by 
designing men ; and there may be some having influence over these people, 
who may from selfish motives, advise them not to accept the liberal provi- 
sion made tor them by the Government, should their removal be postponed 
any length of time. Hence, in my opinion, the sooner they can be removed 
the better, to which subject I very respectfully call your attention. 

A copy of the Seminole treaty was forwarded to you immediately after 
it was concluded in March last, which I presume you received in due time. 

I am very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant. 

S. C. STAMBAUGH, 

Sec. Com. Indian Affairs. 

Hon. Lewis Cass. 

Secretary of War. 



Fort King, September 14, 1835. 
Sir : General Thompson, agent for the Seminole Indians, has just in- 
formed me that he has forwarded his general report upon the claims under 
the sixth article of the treaty of 1832 with the Seminole Indians, including 
the claim (No. 11 in his report) of , Harmon K. Flolliman, deceased; and 
that he informed you that additional evidence would be forwarded to you 
in support of that claim. The promised additional evidence I have the 
honor to enclose herewith. This evidence had heretofore been submitted 
to General Thompson and withdrawn, he having pointed out some defect 
which it became necessary to remedy. 

I am, sir, respectfully, 

Your most obedient servant, 

HARMON K. HOLLIMAN. 

Elbert Herring, Esq. 

Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 



Territory of Florida, Alachua county : 

Personally appeared before me, William M. Reed, an acting justice of the 
peace in and for the aforesaid county, Bennett M. Dell, who, being duly 
sworn, deposeth and sayeth, that he resided on the St. Mary's river, Florida, 
in the year 1818, and that in the month of January of that year, this depo- 
nent was informed that a band of Seminole Indians had murdered the 
wife of Hinchee Holliman. and committed serious depredations on his plan_ 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



109 



tation, on said river, and that said deponent, together with Simeon Dell and 
others, who went immediately over the river to Mr. Holliman's, about seven 
or eight miles from said deponent's residence. It was early after the Indians 
had committed the depredations, it being the next morning, that deponent, 
with those that accompanied him, found no living being at the place ; that 
deponent with others went into the house, deponent among the first who 
entered it, and found Mr. Holliman's remains under the bed, shockingly 
murdered, being shot, stabbed, and scalped; every thing about the house and 
in it was destroyed or taken off, and the place presented a horrid spectacle ; 
that there were several hogs shot dead in a pen near the house ; that Mr. 
Holliman had two horses that were worth from seventy-five to a hundred 
dollars each that were taken off at the same time ; deponent has no doubt 
that there were drove off at least two hundred head of cattle ; that said 
Hinchee Holliman had a large stock of cattle which he. the deponent, 
has seen frequently since, and there were -not more than one hundred head 
left ; and this deponent further saith, that cattle were at and about that time, 
viz : the time the cattle were taken from said H. Holliman, worth from 
eight to ten dollars per head. That this deponent was on the trail of said 
Indians with cattle at different times, and the trail had the appearance of 
five or six hundred head having been carried off, and that he followed the 
trail twice or more into Florida, toward the Miccasuky towns. There 
were also a negro woman named Lotty and her child taken away at 
the same time, and that the same was not returned until March or April, 
1822. Mr. H. Holliman stated they had taken between four and five hundred 
dollars from him in money, of which deponent has no doubt. He, the 
said Holliman, having become quite forehanded in the world, and owned 
ten or fifteen negroes ; and there was every sign of there having been stolen 
corn, bacon, and potatoes, &c. to what amount deponent cannot state. 

BENNETT M. DELL. 

Sworn to and subscribed before me this 14th day of July. A. D. 1835. 

WM. M. REED, 
Justice of the peace for Alachhua county. 

State of Georgia, Camden County : 

Personally appeared before me, a justice of the peace in and for said 
county, Grandison Barber, who being duly sworn, deposeth and saith that 
he resided on the St. Marys river in said county and S^ate. in the year 
1818, and that in the month of January of that year, the deponent states he 
was informed that a band of Seminole Indians had murdered the wife of 
Hinchee Holliman, and committed serious depredations upon his planta- 
tion, on said river, and in said county and State, about four miles distance 
from where said deponent resided. Deponent further states, that himself, 
with others, went to Mr. Holliman's where the Indians had committed the 
depredation, it being the second day afterward ; and said deponent states he 
found no living being at the place; as deponent had been informed, there 
had been the two Mr. Dells and others there before said deponent and those 
with him ; and had taken and buried Mrs. Holliman's remains; every thing 
about the house and in it was destroyed or taken off, and the place presented 
a horrid scene. That Mr. Holliman had two horses that were taken off at 
the same time, one large sorrel horse worth at least one hundred dollars ; 
the other one an iron gray, worth seventy five or eighty dollars. Deponent 



110 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



has no doubt that there were drove off two hundred head or more of cattle, 
that belonged to Mr. H. Holliman: that said Hinchey Holliman had a large 
stock of cattle, which said deponent states he had seen frequently before 
said depredation, and afterwards; and that there was not more than one 
hundred head left. And this deponent further saith, that cattle were at or 
about that time, viz. the time the cattle were taken from Mr. H. Holliman, 
worth from eight to ten dollars per head ; that this deponent was on the 
trail of said Indians with cattle at different times, and the trail had the ap- 
pearance of five or six hundred head having been carried off: that said de- 
ponent followed the trail one or more times into Florida, towards the Mic- 
casuky towns : there were also a negro woman named Lotty, and her child, 
taken away at the same time, belonging to said H. Holliman, and that the 
same not returned until April, 1822. Mr. H. Holliman stated they had 
taken between four and five hundred dollars from him in money, of which 
deponent has no doubt, knowing that Mr. H. Holliman held a considerable 
amount of money, and Mr. H. Holliman stating that he was not at the house 
when the attack was made by said Indians on said house, being nearly a 
quarter of a mile from his house, and hearing the report of the guns, the 
Indians a yelling, the screeches of his wife, Mrs. Holliman, that he, said H. 
Holliman, stated he had to fly for his life, without the second change of 
clothing. Deponent further states from his acquaintance with Mr. H. Hol- 
liman and his affairs, he has not the least doubt but the Indians did take 
and carry off between four and five hundred dollars in money. Deponent 
saith that he had been in Mr. H. Holliman^s house previous to said depre- 
dations being committed, and the household and kitchen furniture were 
worth from two hundred and fifty to three hundred dollars ; other small 
damages done, to what amount deponent cannot state. 

GRANDISON BARBER. 
Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 1st day of September, 1835. 

ALEX. KEAN, J. P. 

State of Georgia, Camden County : 

I certify, from a long personal acquaintance with the above named Gran- 
dison Barber, and from his general reputation, that his testimony, as in the 
above deposition contained, is entitled to full credit. 

Given under my hand at Centreville, the 1st of September, 1835. 

ALEX. KEAN, /. P. C. C, 

Territory of Florida, Alachua County : 

Personally appeared before me, Charles Waldron, a justice of the peace 
in and for said county, Enoch Daniels and Abraham Daniels, who, being 
duly sworn, deposeth and saith, that they resided on the St. Marys river 
in the year 18 IS, and that in the month of January of that year, they were 
informed that a band of Seminole Indians had murdered the wife of Hin- 
chee Holliman. and committed serious depredations upon his plantation on 
said river ; that they went immediately over to Mr. Holiiman's, about five 
miles distance from where they, the said deponents, resided, early after the In- 
dians had been there, it being the next morning, and they, the said deponents, 
found no living being at the place except one old negro ; that the said depo- 
nents went into the house, where they found Mrs. Holiiman's remains under 
the bed, most shockingly murdered, being shot, stabbed, and scalped ; that 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



111 



every thing about the place, and in the house, was destroyed or taken off, 
and the place presented a horrid spectacle ; that there were six or seven 
hogs shot dead in the pen ; that Mr. Holliman had two horses, worth from 
$75 to $100 each, which were taken off at the same time; that the said 
deponents have no doubt that the Indians drove off at least two hundred 
head of cattle which belonged to Mr. Holliman, he having been a large 
stock holder ; that at that time there was a negro woman and child taken 
off, and they were not returned for four or five years after ; that Mr. Holli- 
man stated the Indians had stolen between four and five hundred dollars 
in cash, of which deponents have no doubt, as said Holliman was quite 
forehanded in the world, and owned ten or fifteen negroes ; that there was 
every sign of the Indians having stolen corn, bacon, and potatoes, to what 
amount deponent cannot state. The name of the negro woman taken off 
by the Indians was named Lotty. 

ABRAHAM DANIELS, his x mark. 
ENOCH DANIELS, his x mark. 

Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 17th April, 1835. 

CHARLES WALDRON, /. F. 

Territory of Florida, Alachua County, July 10, 1835 : 

From a personal acquaintance with Abraham Daniels and Enoch Daniels, 
whose signatures are attached to the foregoing affidavit, I consider their 
testimony entitled to full credibility. 

CHARLES WALDRON, J. P. 



Territory of Florida, County of St. Johns : 

Personally appeared, Anthony Rutant, who being duly sworn, says, 
that he is an inhabitant of the Territory of Florida, and has resided therein 
ever since the commencement of the year 1822, and is now sixty-six years 
of age ; that he, deponent, is acquainted with Harman H. Holliman ; he, 
deponent, became acquainted with him, Holliman, in the year 1822, about, 
the latter end of February of that year ; deponent then resided at Hope hill, 
on the St. Johns river, about three miles south of Volutia. As near as de- 
ponent can recollect, the said Holliman came to his, deponent's place, for 
the purpose of recovering some slaves that had been plundered by the Se- 
minole Indians from Georgia, belonging to Hinchee Holliman, and whilst 
there he, deponent, gave employment to the said Harman H. Holliman ; 
whilst Harman H. Holliman was with deponent, he employed an Indian 
negro, named Abraham, to go into the nation for the purpose of bringing 
in the said slaves ; and he deponent recollects that Abraham brought in 
the said slaves, consisting of a negro woman and her child ; and he, depo- 
nent, recollected that when Abraham returned, that he, Abraham, gave a 
loud whoop to announce his return. The deponent recollects that there 
were Indians at his place at this time, and he, deponent, believes that Indians 
came in with the slaves, accompanied by Abraham. They were brought 
in from the Indians residing in Florida. Abraham went after the slaves very 
early in March, and was absent about a fortnight before his, Abraham's, 
return. 

A. RUTANT. 

Sworn to before me,, the 7th day of July, 1835. 

E. B. GOULD, 
Judge County Court. St, Johns county. 



112 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



Territory of Florida, County of St. Johns : 

I certify, from a long personal acquaintance with the above named A. 
Rutant, and from his general reputation, that his testimony, as in the above 
deposition contained, is entitled to full credit. 

Given under my hand at St. Augustine, the 25th dav of July, 1835. 

E. B. GOULD, 
Judge County Court, St. Johns county, 

Territory of Florida, Alachua county^ 

Personally appeared before me, "William M. Reed, a justice of the peace 
in and for said county, Simeon Dell, who being duly sworn, deposeth and 
saith, that he resided on the Saint Marys river, in the year 1818 ; and that 
in the month of January of that year, he was informed that a band of Se- 
minole Indians had murdered the wife of Hinchee Holliman, and committed 
serious depredations on his plantations on said river : and that said deponent,, 
together with Bennett M. Dell, Abraham Daniel, Enoch Daniel, and per- 
haps some others, went immediately over the river to Mr. Holliman's, about 
six miles from said deponent's residence. It was early after the Indians 
had committed the depredations ; it being the next morning, that deponent 
with those that accompanied him found no living being at the place : that 
deponent, with others, went into the house, deponent among the first who 
entered it, and found Mrs. Holliman's remains under the bed, shockingly 
murdered, being shot, stabbed, and scalped : every thing about the house 
and in it was destroyed or taken off, and the place presented a horrid 
spectacle ; that there were several hogs shot dead in a pen near the house ; 
that Mr. Holliman had two horses that were worth from seventy-five to a 
hundred dollars each, that were taken off at the same time : deponent has 
no doubt there were drove off at least two hundred head of cattle ; as Mr. 
Holliman was a large stock keeper or holder : as deponent was shortly after 
on the Indians trail and followed eighteen or twenty miles, and it had the 
appearance of five or six hundred head having been carried off. There 
was also a negro woman named Lotty, and her child, taken away at the 
same time, and the same was not returned until March or April, 1822. Mr. 
Holliman stated they had taken between four and five hundred dollars from 
him in money, of which deponent has no doubt ; he (said Holliman) having 
become quite forehanded in the world, and owned ten or fifteen negroes ; and 
there was every sign of their having been stolen coin and bacon, potatoes, 
<&c. to what amount he cannot say. 

SIMEON DELL. 

Sworn to and subscribed before me this 13th day of April, A. D. 1835. 

WILLIAM M. REED, J. P. 

Territory of Florida, 

Alachua county, July 14, A. D. 1835. 

From a personal acquaintance with Simeon Dell, whose signature is 
attached to the foregoing affidavit, I consider his testimony entitled to full 
credibility. 

WM. Iff. REED, 
Justice of the peace for Alachua county. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



nr 



Newnansville, July, 1835. 

Dear Sir: I am sorry to trouble you about so small a matter, but cir- 
cumstances seem to render it unavoidable. 

Whilst Major Phagan was agent in the Seminole nation, I laid in a claim 
against the Indians, which was substantiated in a manner ready for collec- 
tion, (he said) General Thompson (his successor) says Major Phagan never 
turned over my account to him. I was, by a requisition of General 
Thompson, put to the trouble of going through ail the formalities and 
expense of making out my account and proof a second time, and hurried 
by him to close it by the first or last of October last. Since which I saw 
him and inquired of him if he thought any thing further necessary in sup- 
port of my claim ; he said not. I have written to General Thompson in rela- 
tion to my claim several times since, to which I receive no answer. My 
account was just and very clearly proven by the confession of the 
individuals charged with the depredation in open council, besides a long 
chain of legal proof in support of it. I would thank you for other informa- 
tion how I shall proceed to get it. 

Yours, verv respectfully, 

L. GILLELAND. 

The Hon. Lewis Cass, 



Fort Gilleland, January 27, 1836. 

Sir: I have just had an interview with Mr. Sheffield, sub-agent, on the 
subject of my small claim against the Indians ; he informs me that General 
Thompson has reported to you on my claim, recommending the payment of 
one-half the claim, but does not know whether or not General Thompson 
forwarded all the proof in support of it or not. How General Thompson 
could have thought proper to curtail the claim with such testimony as sup- 
ported it, I am at a loss to know. 

The claim was founded on damages sustained by the Indians stealing two 
horses of me; the charge was acknowledged in open council by the Indians; 
the amount of the claim was proven very fairly by the most respectable 
testimony to be less than a fair and reasonable charge. 

It is only a small amount, yet I am poor and therefore need it. I have 
been treated thus far very badly about it, 

Very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 

L. GILLELAND. 

Lewis Cass, Esq. 



St. Augustine, Florida, October 7, 1835. 

Sir: I enclose additional testimony, in the case of the claim of Janet 
Black, administratrix of Dupont's heirs, which we were advised by General 
Thompson, was necessary on the case. I hope this will explain every dif- 
ficulty, and place the justice of the claim beyond the shadow of doubt. It 
is unquestionaby a claim, founded in justice, and the facts are well known 
8 



114 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



to have occurred, by every Floridian, either from personal knowledge or 
from general report. 

With great respect, 

I have the honor to be. &e. 

E. B. GOULD, 
Attorney for Admix* 

Hon. Lewis Cass, 

Secretary of War. 



Personally appeared before me, Joseph Sanehez, a justice of the peace 
for the county of St. Johns, Antonia Bonelly Leonardy, who being duly 
sworn, in explanation and continuation, says, that at the time the Indians 
made the descent upon the settlements of Josiah Dopont, Mr. Pellicer, and 
deponent's father, in the year 1802, she, this deponent was about thirteen 
years of age. The persons of her fathers family taken by the Indians, 
were her mother, Mrs. Mary Bonelly, and five children, viz : this deponent. 
Joseph, Theresa, Catharine, and John; the nine Indians set out immediately 
with all the plunder that they and the prisoners could carry, and travelled 
by circuitous routes, and by-paths for the interior of the country. Depo- 
nent's family were made prisoners about three o'clock in the afternoon, and 
were forced to march that day and the following night until daylight of the 
second day, when they halted and encamped until the morning of the third 
day, when they started again, and travelled until sun down, and they en- 
camped for the night, and so again on the fourth day, and for twenty-four 
days from the time of her capture. The party could not travel fast, as 
the plunder was heavy, and deponent and her sister Mary, who was eleven 
years old, were obliged to carry alternately their brother John, who was 
about twenty months old. On the second day after they started from the 
Mantanzas, they crossed a small river, and afterwards they crossed the St. 
Johns, where it was very wide, (probably a little lake,) she recollects also 
crossing a river called Sawannee, in a skin. The skin was stretched out 
by two cross sticks, and a rim made of wood ; she layed down in the 
bottom very still whiist crossing, and remembers she was afraid to look up. 
The banks of this river were very steep. On the twenty-fourth day they 
arrived at a town called Mickasuky, the chief of which she recollects was 
called Ken-ha-jah. When we were within a short distance of the town, 
the party halted and proceeded to make a division of their plunder and pri- 
soners, after which we were turned over to some Indian women, who came 
out to meet us ; after which the Indian men went another way, to dance over 
the scalp of deponent's brother. Whilst living with these Indians, which 
deponent learned were called by the name of Mickasuky tribe, deponent 
experienced many hardships and cruelties, and her trials were very severe ; 
and the circumstances and history of her captivity, and that of her family 
were so peculiar and barbarous, that every thing appears to be fresh to her 
mind, and she does not think that any think but death can efface them from 
her memory. The Mickasuky town, where deponent was, she understood 
from the Indians, was about a day's journey from St. Marks, on the Gulf 
of Mexico, and a considerable distance from Appalachicola, and within the 
Spanish boundary of the two provinces of the East and West Florida ; 
deponent's mother and Catharine,, Theresa, and John, were detained seven 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



115 



months ; and at the end of this time deponent's father sent one Jack For- 
rester, with three hundred dollars, to redeem the family, bat the Indians 
not considering that a sufficient sum, detained deponent and her brothetf 
Joseph. Deponent was detained fifteen months longer, but her brother 
Joseph escaped previously to that time, and got down to St. Marks, from 
whence he was sent by the commander to Pensacola, and from thence to 
Mobile, New Orleans, Cuba, and finally he reached St. Augustine, in a 
vessel commanded by Captain Stephen Benet. About twenty-two months 
after deponent's captivity, her father sent two hundred dollars, being the 
additional sum demanded by the Indians, and she was then released and 
delivered up to her brother-in law, Thomas Pacety, who brought her to 
St. Augustine, accompanied by Payne, the chief of the Seminoles, and a 
negro slave belonging to said chief. Deponent further says, that her father 
and mother, the said Jack Forrester, the said captain Stephen Benet, and 
her brother-in-law, Thomas Pacety, are long since dead ; her sister Mary 
resides at St. Mary's, Georgia, and that the rest of her family, that are living, 
reside in the island of Cuba. She has always understood that the Micka- 
suky Indians were considered, by the Spanish Government, to be under the 
military jurisdiction of the Governor of West Florida, and not of East 
Florida. 

her 

MARY BON ELL Y x LEONARDY. 
mark. 

Sworn to before me, this 1st day of October, 1835. 

JOHN P. SANCHEZ, 

X P. St. Johns County. 

Personally appeared before me, Frederick Weedon, a justice of the peace 
for St. Johns county, Philip Solana, who being duly sworn, says, that he 
is a native of East Florida; is now about fifty-three years of age; has most 
of his life had intercourse with the different tribes of Indians. He was in 
St. Augustine at the time the Indians made a descent upon the settlements 
of Josiah Dupont and others at Mantanzas, in 1802, and he saw the dead 
body of Thomas Bonelly, who had been killed by them in that affair, lying 
in the market place, in St. Augustine, having been brought up to town in 
a boat. From his own personal knowledge, and from what he always 
understood, the Indians who committed the depredations on these settle- 
ments were of the Mickasuky tribe. They resid d west of the Sawannee, 
and about a day's journey east of St. Marks, on the Gulf, and within the 
limits of the Floridas. The Mickasukies were considered as under the 
military jurisdiction of West Florida, for convenience, because it was 
much more easy to keep up a correspondence between St. Marks and Pen- 
sacola, than between the former place and St. Augustine. When General 
Jackson entered the Floridas with his army, he destroyed the Mickasuky 
towns, and drove those Indians east of the Sawannee, and deponent under- 
stands that they have since become incorporated with the Seminoles. 

FELTPE SOLANA. 

Sworn to before me, October 7th, 1835. 

T. WEEDON, 
/. P. St. John's County. 



116 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



Territory of Florida, Alachua County, 

November 23, 1835, 

Sir : At the request of General Wiley Thompson, agent of the Semi- 
nole Indians, 1 enclose, herewith, my account against said Indians, with 
the affidavits of Mr. George Braning and myself in relation thereto, with 
the following explanation. In rendering this account to the agent about one 
year ago, by mistake, I dated it 1834, instead 1824, as stated in the affidavit, 
and the consequence was, that the agent was under the impression that 
this claim came under the intercourse law, and not that of the treaty, 
therefore, he did not include it in the general report to the Department. 

I consider myself justly entitled to interest upon this claim, from the 
time I sustained the loss, but must abide the custom of the Department in 
such cases. 

Most respectfully, 

Your obedient servant. 

MALACHI HAG AN. 

To the Hon. Lewis Cass, 

Secretary of War, 



The Seminole Indians, to Malachi Hagan, Dr. 
1824. For six head of grown cattle, at $10 per head - - $60 00 

Territory of Florida, Alachua county : 

Personally appeared before me, a justice of the peace in and for the 
aforesaid county, Malachi Hagan, who being duly sworn, deposeth and 
saith, that the foregoing account, vs. the Seminole Indians, is just and true, 
and that the affidavit of George Braning in relation to the same, is a true 
statement of facts. 

MALACHI HAGAN. 

Sworn to and subscribed before me this 23d day of November, 1835. 

CHARLES WALDRON, J. P. 

I certify that I have been personally acquainted with Malachi Hagan for 
some years, and that his testimony is entitled to full credibility. 

CHARLES WALDRON, 
Justice of Peace for Alachua county. 



Florida Territory, Alachua county, ss. 

Personally appeared before me, a justice of the peace, in and for Alachua 
county, George Braning, who being duly sworn, deposeth and saith, that 
in the winter of 1824,- in company with his father Andrew Braning. Mala- 
chi Hagan, and a band ot eight or ten friendly Indians, with Indian George 
their chief, who they had taken with them to protect and assist them, pur- 
sued two Indians with their families, of the Seminole tribe, from camp to 
camp, on the head branches of the north prong of Black creek, and they 
saw signs of meat having been barbacued at their scaffolds and camps ; 
and when they overtook the Seminoles, who they were in pursuit of, they 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



117 



acknowledged they had killed four head of grown cattle, and had shot two 
others of the same description, that they expected had died ; and from the 
description they gave of the marks of the cattle they had killed, they must 
have been the property of Malachi Hagan, as Malachi Hagan took a leaf 
from which he cut and described his ear mark, which was a split and under 
bit in each ear, and they, without hesitation, acknowledged that the cattle 
they had killed were of that mark. And he further makes oath that he 
was familiar with all the cattle marks in that section of Florida, and that 
no person except Malachi Hagan gave that mark, and there were no cat- 
tie whatever ranging within six or eight miles of the range in which Mala- 
chi Hagan's cattle ranged, and thai the cattle killed at that time by the 
Seminole Indians were no doubt the property of said Hagan. 

GEORGE BRANING. 

November 19, 1834. The within deposition was sworn to and sub- 
scribed before me this day. 

CHARLES WALDRON. 

Justice of Peace. 



Adjutant General's Office, 

Washington. July 25, 1834. 
Sir : I enclose herewith a copy of the order assigning Captain Russell 
to duty, under the orders of the Commissary General of Subsistence, to 
aid m the removal of the Seminole Indians, which it is presumed will 
meet the object of your communication of the 21st instant. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

R. JONES, 
Adjutant General. 

E. Herring, Esq. 

Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Washington, D> C- 



Adjutant General's Office, 

Washington, Nov. 24, 1834. 

Sir: Herewith you will receive "Order" No. 72, which places you in 
command of the troops ordered to the interior of Florida. I send also a 
copy of the report received from Captain Graham, the commanding officer 
at Fort King, and Captain Russell, who has been there employed under 
the orders of the Commissary General of Subsistence, ion duty connected 
with the removal of the Florida Indians. The subject of this report will 
furnish you with the grounds which have induced the movement of the 
troo \-:, and the occasion of now calling your services into requisition, and 
on duty in connection with the affairs of the Seminole Indians. To place 
you in full possession of the subject, and of the present object of the De- 
partment, I send you herewith, by direction of the Secretary of War, a 
cop of his instructions to General Thompson, the Indian Agent in Flo- 
rida, with a copy of the speech directed to be made to the nation. You 
are desired to confer freely with the agent and to co-operate with hirri 



118 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



all proper measures in relation to the duties required of him, and in the 
fulfilment of the one great object of the President in that quarter, the 
peaceful and harmonious removal of the Indians, according to their treaty 
with the United States. 

I am, sir, with great respect, 

Your obedient servant, 

R. JONES, 
Adjutant General. 

Brevet Brig. Gen. Clinch, 

Fort King, Florida. 



List of copies cf letters from Colonel James Gadsden to the War De- 
partment, transmitted to Congress, in ansiver to a call of the House 
of Representatives, of JSiay 21, 1836. 

Letter dated February 21, 1832. 
" " March 10, « 
" " March 10, " 
" " March 17, " 
" " April 3, " 
" " April 12, « 
" April 15, 
" May 21, 



« " April 15, " 



" " May 29, 

" Mav 30, " 

" " May 30, " 

" " June 2, " 

" » June 29. " 

" " February 3, 1833. 

" " May 1, " 

li " December 4, " 

" " November 1, 1834. 



List of Letters from the War Department to Colonel James Gadsden, 
transmitted to Congress, in answer to a call of the House of Repre- 
sentatives of May 21, 1836. 



From Secretary of War, dated January 30, 1832. 

" " " " February 23, " 

« u u a J une ^ u 

" Commissioner of Indian Affairs, " February 18, 1833. 

" Secretary of War, " December 20, " 

" U < k " December 27, " 

« " " " November 28, 1834. 



Baltimore, February 21, 1832. 
Sir : On my arrival in this place, I found the supplies I should need for 
the Indians so very low in price, and there being no difficulty in procuring 
a vessel and on reasonable terms, to proceed direct to Florida, I concluded 
to make all my purchases in this city. I have this day cop^-Vied them, 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 119 



and now draw on you to meet the expenditures, in favor of Douglass Yass, 
for fifteen hundred dollars. By this arrangement I shall not only be able 
to meet the Indians at a somewhat earlier period than that contemplated, 
(should the agent encounter no difficulty in assembling them) but I shall 
have the provisions, &c. necessary for their subsistence delivered at the 
treaty ground on the St. John's river, at a price fully as low as they could 
have been obtained in Charleston. The unfavorable weather the last two 
days has occasioned some delay, but I still hope to sail by the middle or 
the last of the week, certainly. 

I shall draw on you, via Charleston, for any funds I may require to meet 
the incidental expenses of my commission. 

Y our obedient servant, 

JAMES GADSDEN. 

Hon. Lewis Cass, Secretary of War, 



Charleston, S. C, March 10, 1832. 
Sip*.: The want of a conveyance south, has detained me in this place 
many days longer than was anticipated. I sail to-morrow however for the 
St, Johns, and shall reach the place, of destination by the time fixed with 
the Indians. 

Your letter of the 23d ultimo has been received, and no exertions shall 
be wanting on my part to accomplish the object of my mission. 

I have this day drawn on you for one thousand dollars in favor of the 
Branch Bank of the United States of this city, to meet the contingent 
expenses of holding a treaty with the Seminole Indians. 

Your obedient servant 

JAMES GADSDEN. 

Hon. Lewis Cass, Secretary of War, 



Charleston, S. C. March 10, 1832. 
Sir : As a deputation of Creek Indians have proceeded to Washington, 
to tr^at with the United States, for removal and exchange of lands, I have 
taken the liberty of suggesting the propriety of provision being made, in 
any treaty concluded, for receiving within the Creek limits, west of the 
Mississippi, the Seminole tribes, should they be inclined to unite with the 
Creeks. If this is not attended to at this time, it may embarrass the Go- 
vernment in any disposition it may wish to make of the Seminoles, and 
defeat any compact I may make with them on the aforesaid conditions. 

Your obedient servant, 

JAMES GADSDEN. 

Hon. Lewis Cass, Secretary of War, 



Palatka, on the St. Johns River, 

March 17, 1832. 

Sir : Detained by head winds, and most unfavorable weather for travel- 
ling, 1 did not reach this place until last night. Only one day, however, 
later than the period appointed by me, in my communication to the sub- 



120 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



agent, to meet the Seminole chiefs. I found a deputation from that tribe 
here, with the information that the head, and most of the other principal 
chiefs and warriors were on their annual hunt, and that as their supply of 
provisions had long since been exhausted, it was more than probable that 
the hunting season for this, would be protracted beyond the period of any 
previous year. Runners have been sent out in every direction, but as the 
most frequented hunting grounds extend to the very extremity of the penin- 
sula of Florida, it is not thought probable that a general gathering of the 
Indians, or of such chiefs as would be authorized to treat for them, can 
possibly be effected much before the middle of the ensuing month. 

In the interem, therefore, I will proceed to the west, and communicate with 
the towns on the Appalachicola fiver, and on my return endeavor to effect 
the objects of the General Government, as to the removal of the Seminole 
Indians to some more suitable country, west of the Mississippi. 

The vessel on board oi which I shipped the supplies for the Indians from 
Baltimore, has not yet arrived. She made the bar of the St. Johns on 
Monday last, and has, I have been informed, been laying off and on the 
coast ever since, for a favorable wind to enter that river. Should no acci- 
dent happen, therefore, she may be expected at this place in three or four 
days at furthest. 

I found (as the memorial from the Seminole chiefs, presented through 
their agent, to the President, stated) that the crops on this part of the Ter- 
ritory of Florida had suffered very seriously the last year from drought, 
and that the white us well as the Indian population, were at" present in a 
somewhat distressed state for the want of provisions. The grain supply 
for the latter, has long since been exhausted, and as there is not in the In- 
dian territory, at this time, corn enough even to plant the crops of the 
coming year, I shall direct an issue, for temporary relief, from the quantity 
on board the vessel when she arrives, even previous to holding a talk witt: 
the Indians. 

They shall be made sensible, however, hereafter, of the motives of this 
act of humanity, on the part of the Government at this particular period 7 
so that they may not encourage from thence any expectation of being fed 
in future (as they have hitherto been) by any other than their own per- 
sonal exertions. 

I shall embrace, however, any additional supply of provisions, which it 
may be necessary in their present condition to furnish, as stipulations in 
the treaty which may be concluded. 

I have thought it proper, from the tenor of your instructions, to confirm in 
this communication the statement made to the President, and through him ; 
to the Congress of the United States, as to the distress, at this time, of the 
Seminole Indians, for the want of provisions, proceeding from causes, in 
this particular instance, beyond their control, that that body may make the 
necessary appropriation for relief, should it be deemed advisable to do so 
for this year, even in the event of the failure of any agreement on the part 
of the Indians for an exchange of lands and a removal west of the Missis- 
sippi. They have petitioned for no meat but for 8,000 bushels of corn, 
deducting what I shall issue at this time, will leave 6,400 bushels, as neces- 
sary, from their own statement, until the crop of the next year can be 
gathered. Should corn not increase in price beyond that paid by me m 
Baltimore, the above quantity could be delivered at this place for about four 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 121 

thousand dollars. To meet, however, all possible contingencies, I should 
say that an appropriation of five thousand dollars would be ample. 
Yours, (fee. 

JAMES GADSDEN. 

Hon. Secretary op War. 



Payne's Landing, April 3, 1832. 
Sir : Since writing you on the 17th ultimo, the provision schooner has 
arrived, and I have made arrangements for transporting the provisions, &c. 
for the treaty, to this point, equally convenient for the agency and the In- 
dians who are to be assembled. Micoanopa, the head chief, having returned 
from the hunt, I had an interview with him and several of the subordinate 

chiefs from the lower towns, at the agency, on the . He corroborated 

the statement previously made by Heal; that from the reduced state of 
the Indian supplies of provisions, the hunting season has been extended to 
a longer period than usual this year; that the warriors were just returning 
from the woods, and that the planting season had commenced. It would 
be both inconvenient and difficult, therefore, to collect the chiefs and war- 
riors at this time ; and that as he was anxious for all of his people to hear 
what their father, in Washington, had to communicate to them, he wished 
me to delay the task twenty-eight or thirty days. Unwilling to' afford the 
Seminoles a pretext for again appealing to Congress to be ted the succeed- 
ing year, I readily complied with Micoanopa's request, and we have agreed 
upon the 1st of May as the day for the Indians to assemble at Payne's 
Landing, on the Ocklewaha river, to negotiate on the subject of my mis- 
sion. In the mean while I shall, as communicated in my last letter to you, 
proceed west, and visit the towns on the Appalachicola river, two of the 
chiefs of which may be important instruments in effecting the wishes of the 
Government with the whole tribe of Seminoles from their supposed views 
as being favorable to those wishes, as well as from the acknowledged 
influence over the Indians of Florida generally. I have directed a small 
supply of provisions to be issued from the quantity imported by me, as well 
to enable the Indians' to return from the woods to their towns, as to assist 
them in their planting by furnishing the seed corn necessary. 
Your obedient servant, 

JAMES GADSDEN. 

Hon. Lewis Cass, 

Secretary of War. 



Tallassee, April 12, 1832. 

. Sir : I am thus far on my way to meet the chiefs of the Appalachicola 
towns, and have drawn on your Department, in favor of the cashier of the 
Bank of Florida, for one thousand dollars, which may be necessary to meet 
the expenditures of my mission. 

Yours, respectfully, 

JAMES GADSDEN. 

Hon. Lewis Cass, 

Secretary of War, 



122 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



On board Schooner Ambuscade, 
On way to Charleston, St. John's River, May 15, 1832. 

Sir: I have only time to say, that I have concluded a treaty with the 
Seminoles, with the condition that a deputation of seven (7) confidential 
chiefs, who have been designated, should previously visit the Creek country 
west of the Mississippi, and should it correspond with the representations 
made of it, then the agreement made is to be binding on the respective 
parties. I write merely to communicate to you the above fact, that the 
appropriation necessary to meet the expenses of the exploring deputation 
might be obtained before the adjournment of Congress, should I, by any 
accident, be prevented reaching Washington before that period. I am now 
on my way, and hope to anticipate this letter ; if not, the appropriation may 
be obtained in time for the party to go west, who are willing to do so 
immediately after the green corn dance, which will commence about the 
20th of next month. The chiefs have requested that their agent, Major 
Phagan, should accompany them, and the Government could not, at this 
time, appoint a better agent. 

Yours, respectfully, 

JAMES GADSDEN. 

The Hon. Secretary of War. 



Charleston, South Carolina, 

May 21, 1832. 

Sir : I wrote you from the St. John's river, in which I informed you 
that I had concluded a treaty with the Seminole Indians, with the condition 
annexed of a previous examination of the country west of the Mississippi, 
by seven of the head chiefs. I am thus far on my way to Washington, 
via Baltimore, for which place I shall sail in half an hour. This is to advise 
you, that I have, this day drawn on you. in favor of the Branch Bank of 
the United States, in this city, for one thousand dollars, to close the expen- 
ditures of the mission to the Seminole Indians. 

Respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

JAMES GADSDEN. 

The Hon. Lewis Cass, 

Secretary of War. 



Washington, D. C. 

May 29, 1832. 

Sir : I have the honor of submitting to the consideration of the Presi- 
dent, a treaty which, as commissioner in behalf of the United States, I have 
concluded with the Seminole Indians. I shall, in a day or two, prepare a 
report of my operations, detailing some facts and recommendations, which 
may assist the Department over which you preside, in carrying into effect 
the objects of the Government, in removing the Indians west of the Mis- 
sissippi. 

Your obedient servant, 

JAMES GADSDEN. 

The Hon. Lewis Cass, 

Secretary of War. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



123 



Washington, May 30, 1832. 

Sir : The documents furnished from the office of Indian affairs, as de- 
rived from the expenses incurred by the Choctaw delegation, do not afford 
satisfactory data, on which to base an estimate, which may be relied on, of 
the probable sum which would be necessary to defray the charge of sending 
a deputation of Seminoles to the Arkansas, as provided for in the treaty 
lately concluded with that tribe. The more remote position of the Indians, 
in the interior of the Peninsula of Florida, from the country to be exam- 
ined, will necessarily add to the amount which may be requisite to meet 
all the demands for transportation, &c. Assuming, ho >vever, 75 cents a day, 
per head, as sufficient to meet the expenses of each member of ihe party, 
" including the cost of horses, tents, interpreters, guides, ferriage, provisions, 
blankets, clothing, camp apparatus," &c. as furnished from Uie Indian of- 
fice, I should suppose that the estimate subjoined will probably be as safe a 
guide for the War Department, as any I am able, at this time, to prepare. 
The treaty provides for sending a deputation of 7 chiefs, with an interpre- 
ter and agent, making in all 9 persons. 

Transportation of 9 persons from the Bay of Tampa, or some 

other port in Florida, to New Orleans, at $20 - $180 00 

Transportation of 9 persons from Orleans, in steam-boats, to 

mouth of White river, at $15 - - - 135 00 

The same amount on return to Florida - - 315 00 

Six months, or 180 days' expenses of 9 persons, at 75 cents 

per head, per day - - - - 1,215 00 



$1,845 00 

Contingencies, at 10 per cent. - - 184 50 

$2,029 50 



In the Choctaw deputation, the agent who accompanied it, received five 
dollars per day. Should this be allowed Major Phagan in this case, 900 
dollars will have to be added to the above estimate, making a sum of 
$2,929 50. An appropriation, therefore, of 3,000 dollars will be amply 
sufficient to meet all the expenses of the proposed exploring party, embrac- 
ing all contingencies, to the Creek country. 

Respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JAMES GADSDEN. 

The Hon. Secretary of War. 



Washington, May 30, 1832. 
Sir: I now enclose you an estimate of the probable expense of an ex- 
ploring party, west of the Mississippi, which Mr. Verplanck. of the Com- 
mittee of Ways and Means, thinks it would be more regular to come recom- 
mended through you. Should you do so, this sum can be substituted in the 
general appropriation bill, for the 5,000 dollars therein provided to feed the 
Seminoles. 

i remained in your office several hours this morning, with a hope of see- 
ing you personally <*n the subject. The estimate the committee of the 
House would wish to receive this evening, or early to-morrow. 

Respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JAMES GADSDEN. 

Hon. L. Cass, Secretary of War. 



124 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



Washington, D. C. June 2, 1832. 

Sir : I have the honor of submitting to the consideration of the Presi- 
dent, a treaty or compact, which, as commissioner in behalf of the United 
States, I have concluded with the Seminole Indians. There is a condition 
prefixed to the agreement without assenting to which, the Florida Indians 
most positively refused to negotiate for their removal west of the Missis- 
sippi, alleging that they had no knowledge of the country assigned the 
Creeks in that quarter, and were ^ahke ignorant of the disposition of that 
tribe to reunite with, or receive them as a constituent part of the same 
people. Even with the condition annexed, there was a reluctance (which 
with some difficulty was overcome) on the part of the Indians to bind 
themselves by any stipulations, before a knowledge of facts and circum- 
stances would enable them to judge of the advantages or disadvantages of 
the disposition the Government of the United States wished to make of 
them. They were finally induced, however, to assent to the agreement 
entered into, and on terms the most favorable which could be obtained, 
and which will be found, 1 trust, to harmonise with the general spirit, 
however they may not accord, with some unessential particulars, with the 
strict letter of your instructions. 

The difficulties in effecting this arrangement, and the unavoidable delay 
attending the whole negotiation, have exceeded my anticipation, and will 
be found to have, in some degree, swollen the expenses beyond my esti- 
mated calculations. The Indians, as 1 previously informed you, were 
scattered in every direction throughout the Territory, and the reduced state 
of their provisions had induced many of them to extend the hunting season 
beyond the ordinary period. Some time elapsed before the principal chief 
of the lower towns could be found, and the gathering of the head men of 
the Seminoles generally, was impracticable, without the previous issue of 
some provisions to meet their immediate wants, and to provide for their 
families while they were engaged in council with the United States com- 
missioner. While on the treaty ground, the half starved condition of 
many of them, subsisting as they had been for three months previous, on 
roots, and the cabbage of the palmetto tree, compelled a larger issue of 
meat and corn than I have ever known to be demanded by Indians before. 
The issue however was indispensable without creating dissatisfaction, and 
thereby jeopardizing the success of my mission. I found it necessary there- 
fore to meet all complaints from chiefs on this subject, by an issue of pro- 
visions satisfactory to themselves and their half starved followers. I 
mention this fact to account for the seemingly large quantity of meat and 
corn in proportion to the numbers assembled, when contrasted with what 
would have satisfied the like number of white men. 

I deemed it most advisable in the provisions of the treaty, and it was 
more acceptable to the Indians, to give a special sum for the surrender of 
their right of occupancy and for the improvements abandoned. To have 
estimated the value of the latter by individuals appointed by the respective 
parties, would not only have increased the difficulties in the final execution 
of the treaty, but might have opened the door to subsequent disagreements, 
requiring further negotiations on the subject. 

The payment for property alleged to have been plundered was the sub- 
ject more pressed by the Indians, and in yielding to their wishes on this 
head, a limitation has been fixed in a sum, which I think however will 
probably cover all demands which can be satisfactorily proved. Many of 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



125 



the claims are for negroes, said to have been enticed away from their 
owners during the protracted Indian disturbances, of which Florida has 
been for years the theatre. The Indians allege that the depredations 
were mutual, that they have suffered in the same degree, and that most of 
the property claimed, was taken as reprisal for property of equal value lost 
by them. They could not, therefore, yield to the justice of restitution 
solely on their part, and probably there was no better mode of terminating 
the difficulty than by that provided for in the treaty now concluded. 

One of the principal objections on the part of the Seminoles to the re- 
moval recommended, was the supposed severity of the winter climate of 
the Arkansas coufttry as compared with the one inhabited by them in 
Florida. This was most satisfactorily obviated by the provisions for blan- 
kets and clothing, to be distributed, and which was the stronger enforced 
on feelings of humanity. A large majority of the warriors and their 
families are in a naked condition, and without the means of providing that 
clothing which would be indispensable in a more northern latitude, how- 
ever they may not have felt the want of it in the mild climate of Florida. 

I did not stipulate in the treaty for subsisting the Seminoles, until their 
present crops were gathered. I found on more general examination and 
inquiry, that the lower towns were not suffering, and that those imme- 
diately in the vicinity of the white settlements, though complaining of 
starvation, and had been long without any other provisions than what the 
woods afforded, were still so improvident, and so entirely under the influ- 
ence of intemperate habits, as to exchange the bounty of Government, as 
soon as received, for whiskey. I deemed any further supplies to the In- 
dians of this class not called for by humanity, and as only calculated to 
defeat the object of their removal to a country better adapted to their wants, 
and more remote from the temptations of unprincipled traders. I divided 
the provisions left from the treaty, and which will extend sufficient tempo- 
rary relief to those who merit or will profit from it. 

I have not stipulated in the treaty, though it was understood between 
the chiefs and myself, that the Government would continue this protection 
to the Seminoles and their property, by preventing intrusions on their 
country until they were prepared to remove. To more effectually accom- 
plish this, I would most respectfully recommend the immediate reoccupa- 
tion of Camp King, near the agency, with a company of United States 
infantry, with instructions to the commanding officer to assist the agent in 
confining the Indians within their boundaries, and in preventing an inter- 
course between them and the whites which may tempt to acts of depreda- 
tion and violence. 

It was the request of the chiefs that their annuity for the present year 
should be paid before the exploring deputation of chiefs went west. They 
will be prepared to start as early after the green corn dance as practicable,- 
which will take place about the last of this month, or about the first week 
of the next. The annuity has hitherto been remitted by a draft on Orleans 
or Mobile. It would be more convenient to the agent to receive the an- 
nuity by a draft on Charleston, as the intercourse with that place is more 
direct and frequent, and the transmission of the fund necessary would be 
attended with less difficulty and delay. 

The final ratification of the treaty will depend upon the opinion of the 
seven chiefs selected to explore the country west of the Mississippi river. 
If that country corresponds to the description given, or is equal to the ex- 



126 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



pectations formed of it, there will be no difficulty on the fart of the Semi- 
noles. If the Creeks, however, raise any objections, this will be a sufficient 
pretext on the part, of some of the Seminole deputation to oppose the exe- 
cution of the whole arrangement for removal. To your better judgment, 
therefore, is submitted the direction of me exploration and mission con- 
templated, so as to insure a perfect understanding between the parties, and 
to remove all the difficulties which may hereafter interfere to the final 
emigration of both Creeks and Seminoles, west of the States and Terri- 
tories. 

I owe it to Major Phagan, the Seminole agent, to state that he rendered 
me every assistance in his power, and lost no opportunity of contributing 
his influence to the accomplishment of the objects of the mission on which 
I was engaged. 

Respectfully, &c. 

JAMES GADSDEN. 

Hon. Lewis Cass, Secretary of War. 

The towns on the Appalachicola river, were not included in the treaty 
made with the Seminoles. It was agreed to negotiate with the chiefs 
separately, and I have submitted to your Department an estimate of the 
cost and the probable arrangement which may be effected for the purchase 
of their reservations and for their removal west. Should an appropriation 
for that object be obtained from Congress, I shall be prepared on my return 
from New York, in eight or ten days, to receive and execute your further 
instructions on that head. 

Respectfully, 

J. GADSDEN. 



Washington, D. C. June 29, 1832. 

Sir: Major Phagan, Seminole Agent, writes me that there is a sub-chief 
of that tribe, by the name of Tulkee-Emarthla, " who is desirous of going 
with the deputation to Arkansas. He has two sons and two uncles resid- 
ing in that country, and I think it would be good policy to let him go, as it 
will not increase the expense but a mere trifle. He is a man of some in 
fluence among his people, and having kindred in the country would make 
him more anxious to move." The above recommendation is submitted to 
your consideration. 

It will be necessary to advance a part or the whole of the estimated ex- 
pense for the exploring party of Seminole chiefs, before they leave Florida, 
and as Major Phagan, who accompanies the expedition, will be absent from 
the agency for many months, and will consequently have some preparatory 
arrangements to make, he has requested me to submit to your consideration 
the justice of a half year's advance of his salary on his departure. 

As the sub-agent's presence will be necessary at the agency during the 
absence of Major Phagan, it may become necessary to make a temporary 
appointment for the Appal achicolas, in which event, I would submit to 
your notice, that a suitable person for the office, and as one in whom confi- 
dence may be reposed, Mr. Wm. S. Pope, who resides in that neighbor- 
hood, and may be addressed at Aspalaga, Gadsden county, Florida. 
Respectfully, &c. 

JAMES GADSDEN. 

Hon. Lewis Cass, Sec. of War. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



127 



Wassassa, February 3, 1833. 
Sir : Since writing* the enclosed, I have received a communication from 
Major Phagan, who had arrived with his party of Seminole chiefs at Can- 
tonment Gibson. He reports that in consequence of the non -assemblage of 
the commissioners, the Indians had not, as yet, been able to examine the 
country to be allotted them. They had been on a visit, however, among 
the Creeks, and were shortly to go on a great buffalo hunt, west. On the 
whole, the Major thinks, that with the exception of the want of wooded 
land, an objection, I believe, which has been made by the Creeks, the Semi- 
noles are much pleased with the country (the soil and water in particular), 
and that there will be no difficulty in consummating the agreement made 
at Payne's Landing in May last. 

Respectfully, &c. 

JAMES GADSDEN. 

Hon. Lewis Cass, Secretary of War. 



Wassassa, Jefferson County, May 1, 1833. 

Sir: Major Phagan spent the last night with me on his return to the 
Seminole agency. He has reported, he informs me, the successful result of 
his expedition to the west; leaving now nothing wanting, but your in- 
structions for the early removal of the Seminoles to the country allotted 
them on the Canadian fork. 

As the Major proceeds direct to Washington, under a permit from the 
Executive oi the Territory, you can personally communicate with him on 
those plans which may be deemed best for the transportation of the Indians 
to their new homes. I am inclined to the opinion that, after duly consid- 
ering all the difficulties attending land and water conveyance, independent 
even of the repugnance the Indians have to the latter, that you will find the 
former most advisable. Should you adopt the water, a depot on the coast 
of Florida near the Indian location (and the bay of Tampa alone affords 
an acceptable point for large vessels), would have to be established. The 
collecting the Indians at that point ; the necessary preparatory expenses for 
doing so; the expense of delay, should the Indians be detained for the 
vessels, or of demurrage, should the vessels have to wait for them ; the 
transhipment from sea vessels to steam-boats, on the arrival of the former in 
the Mississippi ; the probable detention of steam-boats for the want of a 
concert of movement between them and the sea vessels, and the possible ar- 
rival of the latter in the Mississippi, when the waters are too low for the 
former to ascend the Arkansas ; are all obstacles of such a character as may, 
and will, in my opinion, be found to enhance the expense of water trans- 
portation considerably above that of a land route. „ If the latter be pre- 
viously selected through a settled and well supplied country, and the ar- 
rangements judiciously made, depots of provisions might be established at 
convenient distances, so that but few accompanying wagons, and those prin 
cipally to convey the children and infirm, would be necessary. The In- 
dians could themselves afford great facilities with their horses, all of which 
they would wish to carry with them, and could not by water. They have 
generally a large stock of horses, and would very reluctantly sell. An ob- 
jection to the land route might be anticipated in the possible complaints for 
alleged depredations by the Indians on their march. But this can be pre- 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



vented by making the chiefs responsible, and whose vigilance will prevent 
irregularities. However, on this, and other subjects, you will derive from 
Major Phagan all the requisite information. He having been designated 
by the Indians to accompany them, and their recommendation having been 
responded to by the commissioners on the Indian territory, gives him a 
strong claim on the Government for being so employed. 

I have been prevented by an uncommon flood in the Appalachicola, in- 
terdicting ali intercourse with its western banks, from visiting the Indians 
on that river, asl communicated was my intention in my last letter to you. 
I have been further induced to postpone the contemplated interview, until 
the return of Blunt from the Creek nation, where he has been invited, he 
informs me, to attend a council of the southern towns. They have it in 
agitation, if acceptable to the Government, to propose as a substitute for the 
treaty you concluded with them on the conditions agreed with Blunt, and 
if accepted, to unite their fortunes with that chief, and remove with him 
immediately. I communicate this information, however, as I received it 
from Blunt, without any knowledge as to its correctness, or as to who may 
have first agitated the subject among the Creeks. I feel very confident, 
however, that the two towns on the Appalachicola, the chiefs of which have 
hitherto been obstinate, will not long delay accepting the conditions offered 
them, and that all the Indians in the Territory of Florida may be removed 
within the next two years at farthest, provided the necessary appropriations 
be made by Congress. 

Respectfully, vour most obedient servant, 

JAMES GADSDEN. 

Hon. Secretary of War. 



Wassassa, November 1, 1834. 
Sir : Captain Russell was with me yesterday, and reports that the Semi- 
noles in a late talk with their agent, General Thompson, have positively re- 
fused to remove west, under the stipulations of the treaty of Payne's Land- 
ing. Their objections, as I understand from the Captain, are, that it is a 
" white man's treaty " which they did not understand, as the interpretation 
of the negotiation was false. From the interval between the negotiation 
and the execution of the treaty, and the unfortunate delay in the necessa- 
ry appropriations for carrying it into effect, I had apprehended some move- 
ment of this character. Time had been allowed for the exercise of those 
adverse and secret influences, too frequently, as you well know, interposing 
to embarrass the Governmental transactions, with its red subjects, and the 
opportunity from a change of agency, seemed to be propitious to throw ob- 
stacles in the way, which could only be met or explained by those who had 
previously been agents to, or witnesses of, the negotiation with them. I am 
far, myself, from believing that the Indians have taken a stand, at all ha- 
zards, against fulfilling the stipulations of the treaty of Payne's Landing, 
but rather think their late conduct in council, is but a demonstration to try 
their new agents, with a view, either to delay, or of ascertaining what bet- 
ter terms may be obtained by a new negotiation with them. I am well ad- 
vised that individuals behind the curtain, who, under a pretext of sympa- 
thy for the Indians, conceal a motive of personal interest, have long since 
been attempting to persuade the Seminoles, that at the treaty of Payne's 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



129 



Landing, the commissioner obtained an advantage over them, and that if 
they objected to that treaty, a new one more favorable to them might be ob- 
tained. I have deemed it proper, therefore, after what has occurred, to say 
to you, that the negotiation held with them was in open council, in presence> 
not only of all the chiefs and warriors, but of many visiters from neighbor- 
ing settlements, in addition to those connected with the commission. Know- 
ing that the Seminoles had, on a fdrmer occasion, thrown obstacles in the way 
of the execution of the treaty of Camp Moultrie, alleging that they had 
signed it under misconception of its terms, and that the interpretations 
were false, I offered them the option at this time of the same interpreter, Mr. 
Richards, who I had with me, or one of their own selection ; they named 
Abraham, a faithful domestic of Micaanope, the head chief, hi addition, the 
interpreter of the agent, Cudjo, was present, and Mr. Richards, who I re- 
tained for my own satisfaction. On the interpretation of each talk, by Abra- 
ham, I referred to the other interpreters as to its correctness, and the chiefs 
themselves never intimated a doubt on the subject. I mention these facts, 
which have likewise been communicated to General Thompson, that the 
department over which you preside, may percieve how fallacious is the 
complaint made by the Seminoles, should you for a moment be disposed to 
yield a listening ear to it. 

You superior knowledge of the Indian character, and of all the difficul- 
ties and embarrassments encountered in negotiating and executing arrange- 
ments with them, will be a better guide, under existing obstacles, as to the 
treaty at Payne's Landing, than any suggestions which could come from me. 
I may be excused, however, from the particular interest which I feel on this 
subject, from any seemingly officious solicitude I may manifest, as to the 
final success of what was most propitiously commenced. 

The removal of the garrison at the bay of Tampa, I deemed at the time 
premature, and this, probably with the delay adverted to above, and the 
temporary uncontrolled influence which interested individuals adverse to 
the Governmental views, have been able to exercise, from the absence from 
the nation of the local agent for nearly 12 months, may have been the ex- 
citing cause of the present difficulties. You cannot, therefore, in the opin- 
ion of the undersigned, too soon, either reoccupy the bay of Tampa, or re- 
inforce the fort at Camp King ; so that by a show of military strength, you 
may demonstrate the ability, promptly to enforce the final resol ves of the 
Government. These would be more certainly effected by no change in the 
existing arrangements, and I feel more than confident, that the very first talk 
with the Indians to that effect, after the military dispositions suggested have 
been consummated, will produce a change favorable to the immediate com- 
pliance on the part of the Seminoles, with all the stipulations of the treaty 
of Payne's Landing. There is even now a strong party, as advised by 
Captain Russell, under the chiefs Fucktalusta Hadjo, and others, who are 
willing to migrate, but have been threatened by the others, with a view of 
overawing them. These should be immedidtely protected, and every fa- 
cility affored them for their speedy migration. Their departure would pro- 
duce the most salutary impression on the whole nation. 

Respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JAMBS GADSDEN. 

Hon. Lewis Cass, 

Secretary of War, 



130 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



Wasasssa, December 4, 1833. 

Sir: The enclosed letter from Captain Graham, the commanding officer 
at the Seminole agency, as containing some suggestions worthy of con- 
sideration, I have taken the liberty of transmitting to you. The fact of the 
starving condition of the Seminoles, I think witii Captain Graham, may be 
taken advantage of as facilitating the removal of the Indians. Those in 
the greatest distress may, no doubt, be induced to migrate so soon as the 
agents of Government can make the necessary preparations, and be fur- 
nished with the funds requisite to meet the expenditures. 

I trust, therefore, that the treaty concluded will be presented to the 
Senate for an early ratification, and that all arrangements for its speedy 
execution will be matured before the interference of private individuals can 
influence the Seminoles to an opposition. 

There will be no difficulty if the agent, or who may deserve the trust of 
executing the treaty, acts with decision, and receives instructions of similar 
import to those sent the Executive of the Territory in relation to Blunt. 
There should be no tampering with the Indians, or any encouragement given 
them of the least possibility of a change in the compact they have entered 
into. I take the liberty of mentioning this from the known fact that already 
have emissaries been active in persuading the Indians that they have 
made a bad bargain, and that if they resist compliance with the terms of 
this agreement one more favorable will be granted them. 

The statement in relation to Captain Page I believe to be correct. He 
acted for some time as sub-agent of Indian affairs in the Seminole nation, 
and I have understood is not only well acquainted with the head and subor- 
dinate chiefs, but is in good favor with them. I entertain very little doubt 
but that his services might be found valuable in the capacity recommended 
by Captain Graham. 

The deep interest I take in the removal our red brethren from the Terri- 
tory, of seeing consummated the work which I commenced, is my only 
apology for the frequent and probably troublesome communications ad- 
dressed to your Department by 

Your most obedient servant, 

JAMES GADSDEN. 

The Hon. Lewis Cass, 

Secretary of War. 



Fort King, Florida, November 22, 1833. 
Dear Sir: I have taken the liberty to express to you my ideas on the 
subject of the relations between the Seminole Indians aud the United States 
Government, particularly as a treaty has been concluded by yourself, and 
confirmed by the authorized agents of the nation (the legally deputized 
party of chiefs) at Fort Gibson last spring, or the latter part of the winter. 
The Indians are in distress, I think, on account of provisions, as not an 
Indian of the Mickasuky tribe have five days' supply of corn or beans, &c. 
They, as well as the whole nation, are much in want of a supply of 
blankets ; and, as I understand from Dr. Roper, just from Washington city, 
that Governor Cass, the Secretary of War, says, that the whole of the Se- 
minoles will be removed to the land ceded to them west of Arkansas Ter- 
ritory next year, I think that the sooner that arrangements are made to 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



commence the removal the better it will be for the nation ; and I think they 
can be removed, or prepared for removal, much easier in the winter or 
early part of the spring than if they are allowed to remain until they plant 
and gather another crop of provisions. They must suffer much, indeed very 
much, for the want of provisions during this winter and next spring, if 
they are not supplied by the United States Government ; and should they 
be so supplied, I think, as I have before intimated, that the agents of the 
Government will be released from a great deal of trouble and vexation in 
attempting to emigrate them. I would by all means recommend that Capt* 
John Page, 4th regiment of infantry, should be sent to remove them. He 
possesses their confidence in the highest and sincerest manner, and can 
remove them much easier, I think, than any other person could do. He, 
you know, is well acquainted with the whole nation, and always was a 
great favorite, and has more influence over them than any other white man ; 
he is also willing to undertake that duty. I would also advise that the 
Indians be vaccinated before they are removed, and would recommend that 
Dr. Egbert S. Barrows, of Jacksonville, Duval county, East Florida, be 
appointed to vaccinate them ; he was stationed at this post as attending 
citizen surgeon from the 7th of May last, until yesterday ; is acquainted 
with their habits, &c. and is well qualified to do them justice. Dr. Hamil- 
ton, who was appointed last year, refused, as the Acting Secretary of 
War only allowed a hundred dollars. He is about leaving the Territory 
to reside in Maryland. No physician in this country would travel over the 
nation and perform the service for less than four or five hundred dollars. 
Should you think my suggestions worthy of notice please write to the De- 
partment, and state to them what steps should be taken, &e. Some person 
should be immediately authorized to tell the Indians that they will certainly 
be removed next year, although I believe they will be removed in 1834, yet 
I am not authorized to say so, but Captain Page ought to be sent here in 
January or February next if possible. He writes me that he will have 
taken the last party of Choctaws west by the last or middle of December, 
and be in Washington city about the first of January, if not sooner. I 
hope, Colonel, you will appreciate my motives in addressing you on this 
subject, as since Major Phagan left here in October, 1832, with'the deputa- 
tion, there has been no agent except Mr. Sheffield who was here but a few 
weeks, and I can learn nothing from the executive office in Tallahassee on 
the subject of the Indians Is it a fact that a General Thompson, of 
Georgia, has been appointed Seminole agent, and do you know where he 
is ? "Major Phagan sailed from St. Augustine for Washington city about 
fifteen days since : he has always been an honest and correct agent at this 
place, as far as I can learn. Be pleased to make my respects to Mrs. Gads- 
den, and believe me to be 

Most respectfully, &c. 

WILLIAM M. GRAHAM, 
Captain itk artillery. 

Col. James G adsden, Florida. 

N. B. Will you do me the favor to answer this J 

w, m. a 



132 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



FAst of copies of letters from the War Department to General Wiley 
Thompson, transmitted to Congress in answer to a call of the House of 
Representatives, of May 21. 1836. 



VV no from. 


Date. 


In answer to letters of. 


Acting Commissioner In- 














dian Affairs 


August 


29, 


1833 








Commis'r Indian Affairs 


December 23, 




December 2, 




Do do 


January 


OA 

oU, 


1834 








Do do 


July 


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Do do 


November 


iy, 




October 


29, 




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20, 


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Secretary of War - 




24, 






24, 




Commissioner Indian Affairs 


February 


9, 


1835 


January 


iy, 


1835. 


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tt 


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19, 




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April 


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March 


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Acting Secretary of War - 


May 


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April 


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Commissioner Indian Affairs 


June 


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Acting Secretary of War 


July 


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June 


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August 


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July 


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Acting Commissioner In- 










dian Affairs 


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Department of War, 
Office Indian Affairs, August 29, 1833. 

Sir : By direction of the Secretary of War, I have the honor to enclose a 
commission appointing you agent for the Seminole nation of Indians, re- 
siding within the limits of the superintendency and Territory of Florida, in 
place of Major John Phagan, dismissed. 

Your compensation will be fifteen hundred dollars per annum, in full 
for your services and expenses, which will be paid to you quarterly by the 
superintendent of Indian affairs in Florida, computing from the date of 
your acceptance of this appointment. 

Enclosed you will receive a form of the bond required of Indian agents, 
which you will please have duly executed and returned to this Department. 
It must be signed by yourself and two or more sureties, and approved by 
rthe district attorney, or judge. 

You are requested to report yourself, as early as may be practicable, to 
His excellency Governor Duval, the superintendent of Indian affairs, at 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 133 

Tallahassee, from whom you will receive instructions, and the files and 
records of your predecessor. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

D. KURTZ, 
Acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs 

Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

Elherton, Georgia. 



Department op War, 
Office Indian Affairs, December 23, 1833. 
Sir : Your letter of the 2d instant, to the Secretary of War, reporting 
your proceedings since you took charge of the Seminole agency, has been 
received and referred to this office. 

The only points in your letter which seem to require reply, are in rela- 
tion to the time when the Seminoles may be expected to remove, and ask 
ing permission to cultivate the land adjoining the agency. 

It is impossible to say when the Indians will commence their removal, 
and all that can be said on the subject, at present, is that an appropriation 
will be asked from Congress immediately, and their removal facilitated by 
all possible means. 

You are at liberty to cultivate the land appended to or connected with 
the agency, but no assurance can be given beyond the time when the emi- 
gration is completed. 

No arrangement has yet been made for the appointment of an emigrating 
agent. When the subject comes before the Department, your application 
shall receive the most respectful consideration. 

I have the honor to be, 
Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

ELBERT HERRING. 

General Wiley Thompson, 

Seminole Agency, Florida. 



Extract of a letter from, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, to Wiley 
Thompson, dated January 30, 1834. 

" The requisite funds for the removal of the Seminoles will soon be pro- 
vided, and measures will be instantly adopted for their speedy emigration.'' 



Department of War, 
Office Indian Affairs, Jidy 7, 1834. 
Sir : A proposition has been made to the Department, by the Western 
Creek chiefs now here, that the Seminoles should give up their right to a 
separate location west, as a distinct body, and settle promiscuously among 
the Creeks, as the Eastern Creeks now do on emigrating to the west. 
They contend that by so doing they would be more cordially received, and 



134 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



would live more amicably, than if they should be placed in the Creek 
country as if they were a separate community. This sentiment is pressed 
with so much earnestness by them, that the Department feels it expedient 
to have you submit the proposition to the Seminoles, and in making it, you 
will inform them that it is entirely optional with them to agree to or reject 
it. That, by their late treaty, they are entitled to a distinct portion of the 
Creek country for their residence, and that they may insist upon it, or waive 
the privilege as they please. That the mode propostd by the Creeks, would 
probably prevent jealousy and collision, and promote the good feeling and 
prosperity of both tribes ; but that the decision rests with them entirely, 
and must be made of their own free will. In proposing this matter to the 
Seminoles, be careful not to excite a suspicion on their part, that the Govern- 
ment expects or requires their assent. Their determination must be alto- 
gether voluntary, and the proposal to them must be mentioned in such 
manner as not to throw any obstacle in the way of their emigration. 

Very respectfully, &c. 

ELBERT HERRING. 

To General Wiley Thompson, 

Elberton, Georgia. 



Extract of a letter to General Wiley Thonipson. Elberton, Georgia- 

" Department of War, 
Office Indian Affairs. July 10, 1834. 

"Sir: The duty of investigating the claims against the Seminoles, for 
slaves and other property alleged to have been stolen by them, and for the 
payment of which, seven thousand dollars have been appropriated, is 
entrusted to you. You will proceed to collect and embody the evidence of 
the parties, and report all claims that, in your opinion, ought to be consi- 
dered as within the intent of the treaty. You will be allowed your neces- 
sary expenses while performing this duty, and if the circumstances shoul 
seem to demand it, a small extra compensation. 

I am, sir, &c. 

ELBERT HERRING." 



Department of War, 
Office Indian Affairs. November 19, 1834. 
Sir : In reply to your letter of the 29th ultimo, I have the honor to 
state, that the Department cannot depart so far from the provisions of the 
treaty of Payne's Landing, as the chief Emartla and his associates request, 
I: is in the power of Congress only to authorize the measures they propose 
The subject will be presented to that body. 

I am. &c. 

ELBERT HERRING* 

To General Wiley Thompson, 

Tallahassee. Florida, 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



135 



Department of War, 
Office Indian Affairs, November 20, 1834. 
Sir : I am instructed to inform you, that the office of superintendent of 
emigration will be conferred upon you on the 1st of January next. The 
compensation is fixed at two thousand dollars per annum. It is the wish 
of the Department that you should continue to perform such duties of an 
Indian agent, as may be required for the Seminoles, but no compensation 
can be allowed, therefor, besides that of superintendent. It is important 
that great care should be observed in keeping the correspondence and ac- 
counts of the two offices. As superintendent, you will address yourself to 
Gen. George Gibson, commissary general of subsistence, and as agent to 
this office ; until an appropriation is mads for the removal of the Seminoles, 
but one interpreter can be employed ; his pay cannot exceed the limit 
fixed by law. 

I am, &c. 

ELBERT HERRING. 

To General Wiley Thompson, 

Tallahassee, Florida. 



Department of War. 

November 24, i834. 
Sir : Your communication of the 28th ultimo, to the Commissioner of 
Indian Affairs, together with the enclosure containing the proceedings of 
the council held with the Indians at Gamp King, has been laid before the 
President. It is utterly impossible to submit to the demands made by the 
Indians. Every consideration of good faith and expediency with respect 
to themselves, and the just and humane policy. on the part of the United 
States, requires their removal in conformity with the stipulations of the 
treaty. I have no doubt but that you are right, and that the sentiments 
disclosed by the Indians, are those of interested advisers and not their own. 
They have stipulated to remove west. They have ceded their country in 
Florida, and it will soon be sold and occupied by our citizens. Part of the 
appropriations for fulfilling the tieaty have been made, and others will be 
asked for as fast as required. It is nothing less than insanity or an utter 
ignorance of their own position, which can induce them under these cir- 
cumstances to expect to remain. To comply with their wishes, or rather 
what is represented as their wishes, would be utter ruin to them. I enclose 
a speech which you will deliver and explain to them, and the sugges- 
tions of which you will enforce by such considerations as may occur to 
you. Orders will be issued this day from the adjutant general's office, for 
an increase of the military force in the vicinity of these Indians, and Col. 
Clinch will be directed to take the command in person. You will commu- 
nicate fully with him, and furnish all the information in your power. The 
object of this movement is to overawe and restrain such of the disaffected 
Indians as seem by your report to meditate hostilities. My own impression, 
however, is, that they will operate upon the fears of their own people, and 
prevent those who are willing to emigrate from doing so. If any hostili- 
ties are attempted, they must instantly be checked by force. If illegal vio- 
lence is used against individuals, with a view to prevent their emigration 
or excite disturbances, let the trespassers be arrested and tried by the civil 



136 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



authority. Assure the well disposed that they will be protected. You will 
also inform the Indians that all their annuities will be withheld, until they 
commence in compliance with the stipulations of the treaty. I trust that 
these measures will induce them to relinquish any design they may have 
to oppose the fulfilment of the treaty. Should they, however, finally de- 
termine not to remove, you will, before any other proceedings take place , 
report the state of things to this Department, and await further instructions. 
You will communicate to the commanding officer at Camp King the views 
herein presented. 

Yery respectfully? &e. 

LEWIS CASS. 

To General Wiley Thompson, 

Seminole Agency. 



Department of War, 
Office Indian Affairs, February 9, 1835, 

Sir : In reply to your letter of the 19th ultimo, in relation to Mr. 
Center, I have to communicate the approval of the course pursued by you, 
and to add, that unless he complies with the law in procuring a license, he 
must be removed from the Indian territory without delay, and forbidden 
all intercourse with the Indians. 

Very respectfully, &c. 

ELBERT HERRING. 

To General Wiley Thompson, 

Seminole Agency, Florida. 



Department of War, Office Indian Affairs. 

February 9, 1835. 
Sir : I have received your letter of the 9th ultimo, with the inclosures. 
Mr. Steele states that the Indians, of whom you speak, have not been recog- 
nised by the Seminoles, and have never received any part of the annuities, 
and have become incorporated with the Spaniards, pursuing the same oc- 
cupations. Upon this statement, it is obvious that the Government is not 
called upon to interfere with them in any way. In determining who were 
Indians, and as such, entitled to the benefit of treaty stipulations, regard has 
always been paid to the fact, whether they were recognised as members 
by the tribe to which they claimed to belong. It is, of course, desirable 
that, the whole Indian population should be removed from Florida. But 
the Government cannot remove, as Seminoles, persons not admitted to be 
members of the tribe, by the Seminoles themselves. 

Very respectfully, &c. 

ELBERT HERRING. 

To General Wiley Thompson, 

Seminole Agency, Florida, 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



137 



Department of War, 
Office Indian Affairs, February 21, 1835. 
Sir : I have the lienor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 
10th ultimo, enclosing a copy of your communication to Governor Eaton. 

The Department is well pleased with your zeal in the discharge of your 
official duties, and approves your proceedings as communicated in your 
letter. 

"Very respectfully, &c. 

ELBERT HERRING, f 

To General Wiley Thompson, 

Seminole Agency, Florida. 



, Department of War, 

Office Indian Affairs, March 2, 1835. 

Sir : Major Archibald Clark has made application to the Department for 
its interference, to enable a lady to obtain restitution of some negro proper- 
ty, said to be illegally held from her by the Florida Indians. 

I have, therefore, to request that you will afford whatever facilities may 
be in your power, upon the claim being established by proper proof, before 
the competent judicial tribunal, to have the property restored to her. 

Major Clark has been referred to you, and informed that you will aid 
him, both with your advice and influence. 

I have, &c. 

ELBERT HERRING. 

To General Wiley Thompson, 

Seminole Agency, Florida. 



Department of War, Office Indian Affairs, 

April 21, 1835. 

Sir: I have received your letter of the 25th ultimo, relative to a claim 
of Mrs. Hanna, represented by Major A. Clark. 

According to my recollection, Major Clark imputed no blame to you. 
Your proceedings in the case are entirely approved by the Department, and 
left him no good cause of complaint against you, had he seen fit to allege it. 
His application to this office was for copies of papers with which you could 
not furnish him. 

From the import of your letter, I fear that you have misapprehended 
mine of the 2d ultimo. It is incumbent on Major Clark, first, to establish 
the right of Mrs. Hanna to the slaves, before some judicial tribunal ; after 
which, and not till then, you will render him assistance in getting posses* 
sionof them. 

Very respectfully, &c. 

ELBERT HERRING. 

To General Wiley Thompson, 

Tallahassee, Florida. 



138 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



War Department. 
Office Indian Affairs. April 30, 1835. 

Sir: I have received your letter of the 31st ultiniOj with a copy of your 
letter to Mr. Steele. 

As you seem inclined to think the subject had ' not been clearly under- 
stood, and as General Clinch had authorized you to express his concur- 
rence in your opinion, the subject has been submitted to the Secretary of 
War. He has directed me to inform you, that if the facts stated by Mr. 
Steele are correct, and they are so considered to be here, as they are not 
controverted, the Indians alluded to cannot be considered as members of 
the Seminole tribe. 

Permit me to observe that this decision does not. rest, as you appear to 
suppose, upon their being, and having long been, without the limits of the 
country assigned to the Seminoles by treaty. But it is based principally 
upon the fact, that they have never been recognised as members by the 
Seminoles themselves. It would be an unequal construction of the same 
circumstances, to say that they who, because of those circumstances, had 
never participated in the benefits of any treaty with the Seminoles, should 
now be obliged to remove by a stipulation in one of the treaties, when 
removal would be in the nature of a penalty or punishment, as it would 
withdraw them from the sea, from which they procure their subsistence. 

I do not think the consequence would follow this decision that you appre- 
hend. If Seminoles, who have always been recognised as members of the 
tribe and shared in the beneficial stipulations of the treaties were to remove 
beyond the limits of their reservation, they would not thereby exempt them- 
selves from the obligation to emigrate. And should any of them so remove, 
the necessary measures would be authorized, upon your representation of 
the fact, to bring them back. 

This Department fully appreciates the desirableness of freeing Florida 
of its whole Indian population, but it cannot consider those as Seminoles 
who are stated by Mr Steele to be "entirely identified by habit, occupation 
and intermarriage with people of another nation, of different pursuits and 
modes of life, and incapable of supporting themselves by ordinary Indian 
means." 

Very respectfully, &c. 

D. KURTZ, Acting Com. 

Gen, W. Thompson 

Seminole Agency, Florida. 



War Department, May 22, 1835. 
Sir : Your letter of the 27th ultimo has been received, and, in the ab- 
sence of the Secretary of War, it has been submitted to the. consideration 
of the President. 

The President approves the decision communicated to General Cal!, in 
the letter of the commissioner of Indian affairs, of the 26th March, a copy 
of which is enclosed. The 7th section of the intercourse act of 1834. to 
which you allude, was designed to secure to the Indians the means of pro- 
curing subsistence by the chase or in the field; and it cannot, by construc- 
tion, be extended to objects not therein . specified. The law does not con- 
template the possession of slaves by the Indians, and contains, therefore, no 
security for property of this kind. If the Indians hold it, they are left free 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



139 



to its disposition, as they are in the disposition of their skins and furs. The 
Government cannot assume a power not granted, from an express grant of 
power over objects of an entirely different character. 

The President is of opinion, that the opportunity to sell their slaves, will 
be an inducement for the Seminoles to remove. Their resources will be 
augmented, and they will not, upon their arrival west, be possessed of a spe- 
cies of property, which, as stated in the report of yourself Lieutenant Har- 
ris and General Clinch, would excite the cupidity of the Creeks, and be 
wrested from them by their superior numbers and strength. 

Nor is it considered, that the permission to the Indians to sell, would be 
an inhuman act. It is nut to be presumed, the condition of these slaves 
would be worse than that of others in the same section of country. 

In regard to the report w hich you state has been spread, that it was your 
object, by refusing to sanction sales, to secure these negroes for yourself and 
your friends, the obvious remark is, that it will be effectually silenced by 
your publication of the views of the Department on this subject, and inter- 
posing no further obstacle to the purchase of these slaves, than may be ne- 
cessary to secure their owners a fair equivalent. 

I am, &c. 

C. A. HARRIS, 

Acting Secretary of War. 

Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

Fort King, Florida. 



War Department, 
Office of Indian Affairs, June 8, 1835. 
Sir : In answer to your communication of 28th April, I have enclosed 
a copy of a letter, written by Major General Macomb, to Col. Fanning, 
prohibiting the admission of any person into the Indian country, in Flo- 
rida, unless with your permision or that of the War Department. 

I am, <fec. 

ELBERT HERRING. 

To Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

Seminole Agency, Florida, 



War Department, 

July 11, 1835. 

Sir : Your letter of the 14th ult. to the President of the United States? 
has been referred to ibis Department. 

He has instructed me to inform you, that in consequence of the represen- 
tations of Col. Gadsden and Capt. Thornton, that the Seminoles are reluc- 
tant to sell their negroes, or to leave them in Florida when they emigrate 
themselves, and that they are dissatisfied with the arrival of persons among 
them to buy their negroes, such measures will be taken upon this subject 
as the intercourse law sanctions. 

You are therefore authorized to inform the chiefs, and to give public no- 
tice to all others, that no person will be permitted to enter the Indian coun- 
try to purchase negroes, or for other purposes of trade, without a license 



140 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



from yourself, as prescribed in the 2d section of the act of 30th June, 1834. 
The 3d section of this act authorizes you to refuse such license, where you 
are satisfied that it would be improper for the applicant to reside in the 
Indian country. 

I am, &c, 

C. A. HARRIS, 

Acting Secretary of War. 

To Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

Seminole Agency, Florida. 



War Department, 

July 31, 1835. 

Sir : I have received your letter of the 28th ult, enclosing papers con- 
nected with a claim of Gen. Clinch, for negroes killed by the Semimles. 
These will be examined when your final report is received. You are 
aware that no single claim can be paid, until the whole amount of claims 
is known. For if this exceeds the appropriations, a pro rata payment only 
can be made. 

Very respectfully, 

C. A. HARRIS, 

Acting Secretary of War. 

To Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

Seminole Agency, Florida*. 



War Department, 

August 12, 1835. 

Str : I enclose a copy of a letter received from Mr. Gilleland in relation 
to a claim against the Seminoles. 

You will please make an early report of all the circumstances of this 
case, that, if necessary, the Department may act upon it. 

I am, respectfully, &c. 

C. A. HARRIS, 
Acting Secretary of War. 

' To Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

Seminole Agency, Florida. 



War Department, 

August 12, 1835. 

Sir: I have received your letter of the 19th ult. in which yon ask the 
action of this Department upon a claim of Col. Humphreys to negroes,' 
who, it is alleged, are the property of an Indian woman, named Culchee- 
showa. 

Admitting, as true, all the particulars' stated by yon, on the authority 
of the Indians and negroes, it would still be improper for this Department to 
act upon this representation, without any other knowledge of the grounds 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



141 



of Col. Humphrey's claim. Opportunity to explain or rebut should be 
afforded him. 

You will therefore furnish him with a copy of your letter, and advise 
him that you have submitted the case to the Department, and inform him 
that any communication he may choose to make, will be duly considered 
here, before any decision is made. 

I am, very respectfully, 

C. A. HARRIS, 
Acting Secretary of War. 

To Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

Seminole Agency ', Florida. 



War Department, 
Office Indian Affairs, August 17, 1835. 
Sir : I have received your letter of the 20th ultimo, relative to the appli- 
cation of Major Clark, for the delivery of certain slaves alleged to belong 
to Mrs. Harm a. 

In reference to your suggestion, that this case is provided for in the sixth 
article of the treaty with the Seminoles of 1832, I beg leave to observe, that 
the words in that section are " slaves, or other property stolen or destroyed," 
These words do not seem to me to embrace the present claim. 

In a communication, dated 22d February, 1828, Major Clark represented 
that Mrs. Hanna claimed the negro woman, Sarah, and her issue, under a 
deed of gift from her father. The affidavit of Mrs. Hanton states, that the 
reputed father of Mrs. Hanna sold them to a member of the family of an 
Indian chief. If a bill of sale had passed at this time, there would evi- 
dently be a question of legal title between the parties ; and the nature of 
the case would not be essentially varied by the absence of such an instru- 
ment. The claim, therefore, is a proper one for the adjudication of the 
law courts. If they decide that the deed of gift is the older and better title, 
it will then be proper for this Department to consider whether an order shall 
be given, in aid of the decree of the court for the restitution of the slaves 
claimed to Mrs. Hanna. 

You will please furnish Major Clark with a copy of this letter. 

I am, &c. 

D. KURTZ, 

1 Acting Commissioner, fyc. 

To Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

Seminole Agency, Florida. 



War Department, 
Office Indian Affairs, August 36, 1835. 
Sir : I have received your letter of the 1st instant, with the accompany- 
ing papers. Your course of proceeding in relation to the occurrence ap- 
pears to have been judicious and proper, and has the approbation of the 
Department. 

Very, &c, 

ELBERT HERRING. 

Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

Seminole Agency, Florida. 



142 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



War Department. 
Office Indian Affairs, September 16, 1835. 
Sir : Your letter of the 25th ult. has been received. Your construction 
of the 5th article of the treaty of Payne's Landing is doubtless the correct 
one ; it cannot have reference to any claims not existing at the date of that 
treaty. The date at which General Clinch's claim accrued, must have 
been overlooked when the letter of the 31st July was written. It is then a 
claim under the intercourse act of June, 1834, and I return the papers en- 
closed in your letter of 28th June, that you may take the steps prescribed 
in the 17th section of that act. 

Very, (fee. 

ELBERT HERRING. 

To Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

Seminole Agency, Florida. 



War Department, 
Office Indian Affairs, Oct. 28, 1835. 

Sir : I have received your letter of the 23d ult. enclosing one to your- 
self from the chief, John Walker, complaining of an outrage committed, or 
attempted to be committed, upon his property. It is the duty, as it is the 
desire, of the Government to protect the Indians in their persons and pro- 
perty, and you will therefore communicate with the District Attorney, and 
furnish him with such information as you may possess, which will have a 
tendency to lead to the conviction of the perpetrators of the outrage upon 
Walker. A letter has this day been addressed to Mr. Walker, the District 
Attorney, requesting him to use all proper means to apprehend and bring 
to trial the offenders. You will be pleased to inform the chief, Walker, of 
the steps which have been taken, and assure him of the determination of 
his great Father to protect all his red children from aggression by the 
whites. 

Very respectfullv, &c. 

ELBERT HERRING. 

To Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

Semitiole Agency, Florida. 



War Department, 
Office Indian Affairs, December, 7, 1835. 
Sir : Your letter of the JL4th ult. enclosing certain papers in relation to 
a claim of General Clinch for the loss of two slaves killed by the Seminole 
Indians, has been received. According to your desire, the papers were 
submitted to the Secretary of War ; and I am instructed to say, that, under » 
the peculiar circumstances of the case, he would comply with your request 
if he had the authority of doing so. The law governing the case is posi- 
tive, and having pointed out the remedy, has left him no room for the ex- 
ercise of his discretion. I regret that the claim cannot be paid by the De- 
partment without submitting it to the Indians, and the affidavits which you 
sent on touching this matter, are therefore herewith returned. Perhaps, 
when presented to them, the Indians will allow the claim without produc- 



[ Doe. No. 271. ] 143 

mg the proof, and in such case the affidavits of the negroes could be des- 
troyed, and they escape the threatened vengeance of the Indians. 

Very, <fcc. 

ELBERT HERRING. 

To Gen. "W iley Thompson, 

Seminole Agency, Florida, 



144 



[ Doc. No. ] 



EMIGRATION OF INDIANS. 

Office Com' y Gen'l Subsistence. 

June 2, 1836. 

Sir : In conformity with the verbal instructions of the Secretary of 
War, I transmit herewith all the correspondence of this office relative to 
the removal of the Seminole Indians from the date of the ratification of the 
treaty of May 9, 1832. 

I have the honor to be. 

Most respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. S. 

To C. A. Harris. Esq. 

Acting Secretary of War. 



List of copies of Letters received at the Emigrating Indian Bureau, 
transmitted to Congress, in answer to a call of the House of Repre- 
sentatives of May 21, 1836. 



Is a. me of writer. 


- 

To "whom "written. 


Date. 


D. L. Clinch - 


George Gibson. C.G.S. 


November 


27, 


1833. 


George Gibson 


D. L. Clinch - 


December 


20. 


U 


J. B.1P. Russell 


George Gibson 


January 


15, 


u 


J. B. F. Russell 


George Gibson 


March 


31, 


1834. 


George Gibson 


J. B. F. Russell 


July 

u 


10, 


a 


J. H. Hook, A. C. G. S. - 


J. B. F. Russell 


28, 


u 


.T. B. F. Russell 


George Gibson 


October 


1, 


a 


Thompson and same - 


George Gibson 


a 


26, 


u 


Wiley Thompson 


Elbert Herring 


a 


28, 


u 


Wiley Thompson 


Hon. Lewis Cass 


December 


12, 


a 


Wiley Thompson 


Hon. Lewis Cass 




28, 


a 


Lewis Cass 


Wiley Thompson 


January 


1, 


1835. 


J. W. Harris 


George Gibson 


6, 


a 


George Gibson 


Wiley Thompson 




7, 


a 


George Gibson 


Wiley Thompson 


a 


12. 


Cl 


Hon. Lewis Cass 


Wiley Thompson 


February 


i§; 


a 


Wiley Thompson 


George Gibson 


January 


27, 


u 


Secretary of War 


General Clinch 


February 


16. 


u 


George Gibson 


Wiley Thompson 


ft 


28'. 


it 


George Gibson 


Lt. J. W. Harris 


a 


2& 


tt 


Secretary of War 


Joel Yancey - 


March 


2, 


it 


George Gibson 


Wiley Thompson 


a % 


7, 


tt 


George Gibson 


J. W. Harris - 


ti 


17, 


tt 


J. W. Harris - 


George Gibson 


u 


19, 


tt 


George Gibson 


J. B. F. Russell 


It «MBL 


20, 


tt 


George Gibson 


J. W. Harris - 




21, 


it 


George Gibson 


Wiley Thompson - i 


U 


26, 


tt 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 

LIST OP LETTERS— Continued 



145 



Name of writer. 


To whom written. 




Date. 




Secretary of War 


Gov. I. H. Eaton 


March 


27, 


1835. 


Secretary of War 


Gen. Clinch - 


it 


27, 


li ! 


George Gibson 


Wiley Thompson 


April 


h 




George Gibson 


J. W. Harriss 




3, 


ii 


George Gibson 


Wiley Thompson 




3, 


ii 


George Gibson 


Lt-S. W. Moore 




4, 


a 


George Gibson 


Jacob Brown - 


u 


5, 


n 


J. W'. Harris - 


George Gibson 


it 


6, 


a. 


R. Zantzinger - 


Gen. Clinch - 


it 


13, 


n 


Secretary of War 


Wiley Thompson 




14. 


it 


Secretary of War 


Gen. Clinch - 


■\ 


14. 


CC' 


J. W. Harris - 


George Gibson 


ti 


15, 


a 


General Clinch 


Gen. Jones 


it 


20, 


cc 


Wiley Thompson 


Gen. George Gibson - 


u 


27, 


u 


Wiley Thompson 


Secretary of War. 


a 


27, 


a 


J. W. Harris - 


George Gibson 


a 


29, 


a 


W. Thompson & others 


Secretary of War 


it 


24, 


ii 


George Gibson 


S.W.Moore - 


May 

cc 


8, 


u 


George Gibson 


J. W. Harris - 


% 




Act'g Secretary of War 


Gen. Thompson, and 










Clinch, and Lt. J. W. 










Harris 


11 


20, 


ti 


J. H. Hook, A. G. G. S. 


J. W. Harris - 


'. ti 


23, 


li 


J. H. Hook, do 


Wiley Thompson 


u 


26, 


il 


J. H. Hook, do 


Jacob Brown - 


it 


27, 


a 


J. Brown 


Gen. Gibson - 


June 


% 


a 


J. Brown 


Gen. Gibson ~ 


« 


3, 


u 


J. W. Harris - 


Gen. Gibson - 




3, 


u 


J. W. Harris 


Gen. Gibson - 


It 


*> 


it 


Wiley Thompson 


Gen. Gibson - 


li. 


3, 


CC 


Wiley Thompson 


Gen. Gibson - 


li 


3, 


11 


J. H. Hook, A. C. S. - 


Gen. Clinch - 


li 


12, 


ti 


J. Brown 


George Gibson 


h;i 


13, 


it v 


Wiley Thompson 


Act'g Secretary of War 


ii 


18, 


it 


Wiley Thompson 


J. H. Hook, A. C. G. S. 


li 


19, 




George Gibson 


J. W. Harris - 


July 

u 


1, 




J. W. Harris - 


George Gibson 


20, 


a 


Wiley Thompson 


George Gibson 
Wiley Thompson 
Gen. Gibson - 


u 


20, 


it 


George Gibson 
Wiley Thompson 


u 


22, 


U 


August 


1, 


it 


J. W. Harris - 


Gen. Gibson 


.61 


3, 


u 


Joel Yancy 


Secretary of War 




16, 




Gen. Clinch 


Gen. Gibson - 


11 


24, 


a 


Gen. Gibson 


Gen. W. Thompson - 


U 


26, 


a 


Gen. Gibson - 


J. W. Harris - 


11 


27, 


u 


Gen. Thompson 


Gen. Gibson - 


il 


29, 


u 


Secretary of War 


Gen. Thompson 


It . 


29, 


u 



10 



146 



[ Doe. No. 271. j 

LIST OF LETTERS — Continued. 



Name of wriier. 



J. H. Hook : A. C. S. 
Gen. Thompson 
J, H. Hook, A. C. S. 
Secretary of War 
Gen. Gibson - 
D. M. Sheffield 
Lieut. J. W. Harris 
Lieut. J. W. Harris 
Gen. Gibson 
Gen, Gibson - 
Gen. Thompson 
Captain Brown 
Gen. Clinch 
J. W. Harris - 
General Gibson 
D. M. Sheffield 
Captain Brown 
Captain Brown 
S.Y.Walker - 
General Thompson 
General Thompson 
General Thompson 
Lieut. C. Smith 
General Thompson 
General Thompson 
General Gibson 
Hon. Lewis Cass 
General Gibson 
J. W. Harris - 
General Thompson 
General Gibson 
General Gibson 
Lieut. J. W. Harris 
General Gibson 
Captain J. Brown 
Captain J. Brown 
Captain F. S. Belton 
Lieut. J. W. Harris 
D. M. Sheffield 
Secretary of War 
Secretary of War 
Secretary of War 
Lieut. J. W. Harris 
Lieut. J. W. Harris 
J. H. Hook, A. C. S. 
General Gibson 
General Gibson 
General Gibson 



JL U V> ilUIil WIllLcii. 


Date. _ 


Gen. Thompson 


September 


4, 


lbd&- 


Captain Brown 


a • 


d, 




Gen. Thompson 


a 


d, 




General Clinch 


October 


31, 




General Thompson - 


November 


o 




General Gibson 




2, 




General Gibson 








General Gibson 




A 

4, 




Lieut. J. W, Harris - 




* 




Lieut. J. W. Harris 


CC t 






J. H. Hook, A. C. S. - 




lU; 




General Gibson 


CI 


12, 




Secretary of War 




Id, 




General Gibson 




Id, 




General Thompson - 




id, 


cc 


General Gibson 




17, 




General Gibson 




18, 


cc 


General Gibson 


f 


do, 




General Thompson 


June 






S. V. Walker - 




no 

46. 




F. R. Saneey - 


July 






Lieut C. Smith 




7, 




General Thompson - 




OA 




Col. A. C. Harrison - 




27, 




General Geo. Gibson - 


Is ovember 


oU, 




General Thompson - 


December 


Q 

<>; 




D. L. Clinch - 




A 

4, 




Lieut. J. W. Harris - 




A ' 

4. 




General Geo. Gibson - 




r-r 

i , 




General Geo. Gibson - 




>*? 

/, 




Captain J. Brown 




y. 


CC 


Captain J. Brown 


u 


1 1 
l j , 


((, 


General Geo. Gibson - 




du, 


St 


General Thompson - 




31, 


CC 


General Gibson 


January 


4. 


1836 


General Gibson 




6, 


cc 


General Jones 






it 


General Gibson 


« 


10, 


u 


General Geo. Gibson - 




10, 


li 


General Thompson , - 


a 


111 


cc 


General Clinch 


u 


1L 


a 


General Clinch 


u 


is; 


cc 


General Geo. Gibson - 


u 




u 


General Geo. Gibson - 


CC 


27. 


CC 


General Scott 


cc 


21, 


cc 


J. W. Harris - 


u 


21, 


it 


J. W. Harris 


cc 


25, 


cc 


Captain J. Brown 


cc 


25, 


61 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 

LIST OF LETTERS — Continued. 



117 



Name of writer. 



General Gibson 
General Gibson 
Captain Brown 
George Gibson 
Lieut". J. W. Harris 
David M. Sheffield 
George Gibson 
J. W; Harris - 
J. W. Harris - 
Lieut. J. Van Home 
Captain Brown 
Major Hook 
J. H. Hook, A. C. S. - 
.1. H. Hook, A. C. S. - 
J. H. Hook, A. C. S. - 
General Thompson 
General Thompson 
General Thompson 
Lieut. J. W. Harris 
General Thompson 
General Thompson 

General Thompson 
J. W. Harris - 
George Gibson 
George Gibson 
George Gibson 
George Gibson 
George Gibson 
Secretary of War 
General Gibson 
General Gibson 
General Gibson 
General Gibson 
Lieut. J. W. Harris 
Secretary of War 
Secretary of War 
General Gibson 
General Gibson 
General Gibson 
General George Gibson 
Joel Yancey 
General Gibson 
Secretary of War 
Secretary of War 
Lieut. J. Van Home 
Lieut. J. W. Harris 



To whom written. 



Lieut. J. W. Harris - 
Captain F. S. Belton - 
General Geo. Gibson - 
Joel Yancey - 
General Geo. Gibson - 
Secretary of War 
J. W. Harris - 
Secretary of War 
George Gibson 
George Gibson 
George Gibson 
Lieut. J. W. Harris - 
Gen. W. Thompson - 
General Clinch 
General Thompson - 
General Gibson 
General Gibson 
General Gibson 
General Gibson 
Stephen Richards 
Quartermaster U. S. A. 

New York - 
General Gibson 
Secretary of War 
Lieut. J. W. Harris 
D. M. Sheffield 
Lieut. J. W. Harris - 
General Thompson 
J. W. Harris 
General Thompson - 
General Thompson - 
General Thompson - 
Lieut. J. W. Harris - 
Captain J. Brown 
General Gibson 
General Clinch 
General Thompson - 
General Thompson - 
Captain J. Brown 
Lieut. J. W. Harris - 
Lieut. J. W. Harris - 
General Gibson 
Lieut. J. W. Harris 
Lieut. J. W. Harris - 
Friendly Seminoles - 
General Geo. Gibson - 
General Geo. Gibson - 



Date. 



January 


25, 


1836. 


February 


1, 




a 


2. 


a 


a 


6i 




it 


% 


ti 


ti 


9, 


iC 




10, 




tt 


15, 


it 


ii 

a 


15, 


ti 
ti 


tt 


21, 
24, 


ti 


September 


8, 

8, 


1835. 


ti 


10, 




ii 


10. 


.1 




21, 






21, 


tt 




21, 


a 


ii - 


29, 


tc 


October 


5, 


a 


tt 


10, 


ti 


a 


10, 


it 


(. 


12, 


ti 


K 


14, 




tt 


14, 


tt 


ii 


14, 


tt 


tt 


15, 


u 


it 


1% 


it 


' ti 


16, 


It 


u 


16, 


ii 


,' • ijs* , . . 


18, 


it 




18, 




ii 


20, 


i'. 


ii 


21, 


ti 


a 


22', 


it 


ti 


28, 


I'. 


ti 




ii 


It 


31, 


1 tt 


it 


31, 


ti 


March 


4, 


1836. 


c 


8, 


'fr- 


u 


11, 


it 


u 


12, 


u 


u 


12. 


ti 


« 


19, 


s 'i$t- 




23, 


tt 



148 



[ Doc. No. 271. 1 

LIST OF LETTERS— Continued. 



Name of writer. 


To whom written. 


Date. 


D. M. Sheffield 
Lieut. J. W. Harris 
General George Gibson 
General George Gibson 
D, M. Sheffield 


General Geo. Gibson - 
General Geo. Gibson - 
Lieut. J. W. Harris - 
Lieut. J. W. Harris - 
George Gibson 


March 31, 1836. 
April 4, " 
11. 

14, u 

May 7, 



Head Quarters 

Mobile, November 27, 1833. 

General : Should the Seminole Indians be removed west in the course 
of the coming year, I take pleasure in recommending Captain John Page, 
of the 4th infantry, as an officer every way qualified to take charge of the 
removing party, and one that will do justice to the Indians and the Govern- 
ment. The appointment, of Captain Page to that duty would, 1 am con - 
vinced, be very gratifying to the Seminole nation, as he is acquainted with 
all of the chiefs and most of the Indians. 

I am, with high respect and esteem, 

Your friend, 

D. L. CLINCH. 

General George Gibson, 

Commissary General of Subsistence. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Corriy Gen'l Sub. December 20, 1833. 

Colonel: 1 have received yours of the 27th ultimo, recommending 
Captain Page for an appointment in the removal of the Seminole Indians. 
That officer is now engaged in a similar duty west of the Mississippi ; and 
from his efficiency, and his acquaintance with the tribe to which you allude, 
will, most probably, when the proper time arrives, be employed in its 
removal. 

1 Very respectfully, 

Your most obedient servant, 

GEORGE GIBSON, 
ConCy Gen 1 1 Sub. 

To Col. D. L. Clinch, 

U. S. Army, Mobile, Alabama. 



Washington City, January 15, 1834. 
Sir : I have to request the favor of being placed upon duty connected 
with the emigration of Indians. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, 

, Your most obedient servant, 

J. B. F. RUSSELL, 
Captain 5th infantry. 

To Gen. George Gibson, 

Com, Gen* Sub. U* & Army } Washington, 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



149 



Washington, March 31. 1S34. 
Sir: I feel desirous to be employed on duty connected with the emi- 
gration of Indians. I have served thirteen years in the army with my 
company and regiment, and I think there would be found no objections to 
my being placed on this detached duty. 

I have a more particular reason for wishing to be detached on this duty 
arising from my delicate health, which can only be benefitted by an active 
lite. I was obliged to leave my post last fall in consequence of ill health, 
«nrd should fear much that a return so soon to the monotony of a garrison 
lite would be very much to my injury. My claims for this duty are as 
strong as that of any officer of the army, but, Laying aside all claims, I am 
compelled to solicit this favor: considerations that I hope will meet with the 
favor and acquiescence of the Secretary of War. 

I am, sir, with great respect, 

Your obedient servant, 

• J. B. F. RUSSELL, 
Captain 5th infantry. 

Gep. George Gibson, 

Commissary General^ $*c. 



Emigration of Indians. 
Office Corny GeM Sub. July 10, 1834. 

Sir : You are hereby appointed a disbursing agent in the removal o^ 
the Seminoles. 

The duties of your appointment may be found generally laid down in 
the "regulations concerning the removal of the Indians," and in so much 
of the ' : memorandum 1 ' of the Secretary of War respecting the removal of 
the Indians in 1834, as relates to the tribe to which you are appointed. 
But your duties will be specifically pointed out hereafter. 

You will proceed hence to the Seminole agency, Florida, in pursuance 
of the directions contained in the " memorandum" herewith enclosed. 

Respectfully. .<fcc. 

GEORGE GIBSON, 

Com. Gen. Sub. 

Capt. J. S. F. Russell, U. 8. A. 

Washington. D. C. 

Extract from the " Memorandum respecting the removal of Indians 
during the year 1834." {Dated 8th July.) 

" 9th. The season being so far advanced, and there being no appropria 
tion for the removal of the Seminole Indians this year, it is not considered 
advisable to attempt their removal immediately. General Wiley Thomp- 
son, the present agent, will be appointed special agent for removal. His 
compensation will not commence till such time subsequent to the 31st De- 
cember next, as he may be required to begin his duties. Captain Russell will 
he appointed the disbursing officer. 

'•' 10th. Captain Russell will be directed to repair immediately to Florida, 
where he will have a personal communication with General Thompson, 
who will be advised of the views of the Department. They will commu- 



150 



[ Doc. No. 2*71. ] 



nicate to the Indians the intentions of the Government to provide for their 
removal as speedily as is compatible with their health and other ciicun - 
stances. 

a 1 1th. Apian of operations will be projected by General Thompson 
and Captain Russell, embracing all the details connected with this matter 
necessary for the sanction of the Department. r Ihey will ascertain when 
will be the proper time of commencing the removal, the mcde oi transp ci- 
tation, whether by land or water, the proper loule to be taken, the best mode 
of procuring subsistence on the road, whether by contract or by open purchase, 
the best mode of procuring wagons, if wagons are required, and generally 
all the circumstances necessary to a just view and an economical arrange- 
ment of the whole affair. If it is judged best that the transportation should 
be by land, one of those officers will proceed along the route as iar as 
the Mississippi, in order ascertain the facilities of transportation and the 
means of subsistence, and to enable them to determine on the best course 
with respect to both. 

" 12th. If it should be concluded that the Indians had better be trans- 
. ported by water, by the bay of New Orleans, then vessels or steam-beats 
should be procured on the best terms, and, if convenient, by public propo- 
sals. If steam-beats can be got at New Orleans, so as to ascend t'Le 
Arkansas, an arrangement had better be made for the whole distance; but 
if not, the Indians had better be transported so far as to be put in charge of 
the removing officers west of the Mississippi. 

" 13th. General Thompson and Captain Russell will report the number 
of persons whom it will be necessary lor them to employ, and in doing so 
they will consult the most rigid economy. 

As soon as the plan projected by them is received here, the Department 
will act upon it, and communicate immediate instructions for their opeia- 
tions," 



EMIGRATION OF INDIANS, 

Office Ccm'y GenH of Sub. July 28, 1834. 
Sir : The office of Indian affairs will give you instructions to perform 
the duties of Indian agent under the act of Congress of June 30, 1834, 
These duties are to be executed in the absence of General Wiley Thcmpsom 
agent for the Seminoles. As you are about to repair to Florida for the 
purpose of entering on your duty of disbursing agent, and performing that 
arising out of your selection by the Secretaiy of War, to transport the 
annuity due the Florida Indians, you will receive the instructions above 
mentioned and continue to act under them until relieved by General 
Thompson, who, it is supposed, will join you ere long with a view to co- 
operation with you under the u memorandum respecting the removal of 
Indians in 1834/' 

Respectfully ; Sec. 

J, H. HOOK, A. C. G. J&, 

Capt. J. B. F. Russell, 

Disbursing Agent Seminoles, 

Washington, D, C, 



I Doc. No-. 271. ] 



15! 



Fort King, Seminole Agency, 

October 1, 1834. 

Sir : I have the honor to report my arrival at this place, and to inform 
$M that, as soon as the Indians can be collected together to receive their 
annuity, I shall proceed, with all diligence, to comply with instructions 
from your office, in relation to the route of the Seminoles in their contem- 
plated movement to the west of the Mississippi, It is pretty well under- 
stood here, that the Indians have a strong dislike to a movement by water. 
A report in relation to every point of your instructions to General Thomp- 
son and myself, except the particular route, may be forwarded in a few 
days. 

Respectfully, foe. 

X B. F. RUSSELL, 

CapL U. S. Army-. 

Gen. G. Gibson, Washington, 



Camp King, October 26, 1834 

Sir : In obedience to instructions contained in memorandum respecting 
tohe removal of Indians, dated War Department, 8th of July, 1834, we re- 
spectfully submit the following report : 

1st. If the Indians are to be transported by land, they should be required 
to assemble at Camp King, Seminole Agency, Florida, on the 15th March, 
1835 ; allow from that time to the 1st of April, to collect and organize them 
mto convenient detachments or parties, the arranging of teams for the 
transportation of baggage, and such other preliminary steps as may be 
found necessary and proper, for so long a march. 

Should transportation by land be preferred, we recommend that they 
move from Camp King by Micanopa and Newnansville, to Suwannee 
Springs. From thence by the leading ride between the waters of the Oak- 
mulgee and the heads of the Oaklockny rivers, along or near Barnards old 
trail, to or near Old Fort Mitchell on the Chatahoochie river, and thence by 
the usual route heretofore pursued by the Creek Indians that have emi- 
grated, to Memphis, on the Mississippi river. 

From some of these points, Indians, as well as teams, may be subsisted 
by open purchase, such as at or in the neighborhood of Fort Mitchell, and 
various points of the densely populated and cultivated parts of Alabama 
through which the usual route to Memphis lies. But between such points 
provisions should be procured by contract. Through. Florida subsistence 
is scarce, and difficult to obtain. Corn will, it is believed, command two 
dollars per bushel. No flour can be had. Teams are scarce, and cannot 
be had under five dollars per day, and found. But after passing through 
the Territory, and the adjacent part of Georgia, the country becomes settled 
and better cultivated, affording a much better opportunity of obtaining sub- 
sistence. 

By reference to a map, you will readily perceive that the route by Mica- 
nopa and Newnansville, to the Suwannee Springs, which are situated not 
far south of the southwestern border of the Oakfonoko swamp, thence by 
or near Fort Mitchell or the Chatahoochie river to Memphis, approaches 
very near a direct line. We assume that from Fort Mitchell it will be 
proper to pursue the route by which the Creek Indians heretofore emi- 



152 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



grated. If we are right in this assumption, the trouble and expense which 
would attend an exploration of the route. from Fort Mitchell to Memphis, is 
saved. 

Should it still be thought important to examine that part of the route, it 
is believed that General Thompson will be able to discharge that duty by 
the middle of the ensuing February, as he expects to close the business con- 
nected with the Seminole agency, in time to effect that object. 

The necessary number of wagons and teams to transport the Indians by 
land, cannot be procured at any one or two places. A part will have to be 
obtained in Tennessee, Alabama. Georgia, and Florida. The teams com- 
ing from Tennessee, and the upper parts of Alabama and Georgia, can be 
employed in the transportation of subsistence stores to the several depots 
along the route, as they would have to be paid from the day they set out 
for the agency. It is supposed that four horse or mule teams and drivers, 
can be had in Tennessee, and the upper parts of Alabama and Georgia, at 
three dollars ; and in the lower parts of Alabama and Georgia, at four 
dollars, and found; in Florida, at five dollars, and found. Provisions will 
bear about the same relative charge. Flour, corn, and pork, can be pro- 
cured in Tennessee at two-thirds less than in Florida. It is thought advi- 
sable, therefore, that the teams and provisions be chiefly hired and pur- 
chased in Tennessee, the upper part of Alabama, or the up country of 
Georgia. 

Under this arrangement, it is supposed the Indians may have their ra- 
tions issued to them as often as every three or four days, and sometimes of- 
tener. Fresh beef, which it is recommended, should be issued while on 
the march, instead of salt meat, on the score of health and economy, may 
be taken along in droves, and thus be conveniently at hand, preventing all 
contingencies on this head. 

The transportation of these Indians by water, we are decidedly of opinion, 
should be preferred under ordinary circumstances. First, because it would 
be less expensive, perhaps by one-half ; secondly, it would be more expe- 
ditious, as it is supposed the passage by water might be made, perhaps in 
three weeks, whereas the passage by land would consume as many months 
at least ; and thirdly, because the Indians could be better managed and 
prevented from straying, and it would greatly assist in getting off those, who 
are by age, sickness, or infancy, incapable of moving themselves. The only 
objections which we can conceive of, as existing against such a mode, is 
the risk of cholera, or some other malignant disease, which they would 
perhaps be more liable to on shipboard, than by land, and the difficulty of 
transporting the poneys or horses, belonging to the Indians. Yet by land, 
they will not be free from sickness : from great exposure, and from innume- 
rable temptations that may be expected to be placed in their way. To pre • 
vent entirely all intercourse with rum dealers, cannot be counted upon. 
The Indiams horse, next his gun, and at last, the garment from off his. 
back, too strongly enslave him to the cupidity of many unprincipled dram 
sellers. We would add, that to the many other difficulties of a land route, 
we cannot but anticipate much trouble in our march through Florida, 
During part of the winter and spring seasons, a large portion of the country 
becomes completely inundated on any route we could select within the 
limits of Florida; and there are many swampy places, some of them ex- 
tending over fifty miles, which may not always be passable. Add to this, 
that all the rivers in the Territory, during long and heavy rains, overflow 



[ Doc. No. .271. ] 



15,3 



their banks and spread for miles over the country. It is believed that the 
Government dun make some disposition of the poneys in the nation, satis 
factory to their owners, either by taking them at a fair valuation and pay 
for them in money, or other horses, at the option of the owners, when they 
arrive at their new home ; or sending them on by a party of active young 
warriors, under the conduct of some suitable white man. 

We have said that the transportation of these Indians by water, should 
be preferred, even under ordinary circumstances. We have, however, to 
report, that from a strict observation, and the public declarations of the 
most influential chiefs, while convened conformably to instructions, to no- 
tify them of the intention of the Government to provide for their removal 
as speedily as is compatible with their health and other circumstances, we 
are led most strongly to believe they will never consent, or can be made, to 
move west, but through coercive means; under which circumstances, we 
feel it our duty to recommend, most decidedly, that they be transported by 
water ; and to that end, that they be required, by military force, to assemble 
at Tampa Bay, and thence be shipped for New Orleans, 

There are supposed to be, from the most correct information that can be 
procured, about five thousand souls in the nation. The Indians obsti- 
nately refuse to give an estimate of their numbers, their negroes, and their 
cattle. 

In recommending the route by water, we advise that schooners and 
brigs of two and three hundred tons, be chartered to take the Indians and 
their negroes to New Orleans, (as it is well ascertained that the steam-boats 
on the Mississippi river are not so constructed as to navigate the open sea, 
such as they would be exposed to from Tampa Bay to New Orleans,) and 
from thence by steam-boats to Little Rock, Arkansas; and should the water 
be sufficiently high, which fact may be always ascertained at that point, 
then all the way "to Fort Gibson, which would bring them to within a lew 
miles of their piace of destination. 

The contract for steam-boats had better be made contingently to Little 
Sock, or Fort Gibson, as the special agent may decide. If only to the 
former place, the party could be most conveniently placed in charge of the 
officers who superintend the emigration of Indians west of the Mississippi. 
It is supposed, however, that at the season of the year specified for the 
movement, the waters of the Arkansas, will be sufficiently high to admit 
of the approach of steam-boats to Fort Gibson. 

The vessels, large size schooners or brigs, can be more conveniently 
and economically chartered in "New York, than any of the southern ports; 
and provisions to last the party to New Orleans, can be advantageously 
purchased and shipped at the same time. 

We beg leave to recommend, in the strongest terms, that a suitable person 
be appointed to accompany the emigrating party as a physician. 

By the land route, we recommend as an efficient aid to the special agent 
and disbursing agent, the following assistants : 

One assistant to special agent - - $4 00 per day. 

One do to disbursing agent - 4 00 " u 
One conductor to each column of Indians, from 

500 to 1,000 each - - - 4 00 « * 
One assistant conductor to each column, to act 

also as assistant commissary - - 4 00 " " 

One physician - - - - 5 00 " " 



154 [ Doc. No. 271. ] 

One interpreter - §2 50 per day, 

Abraham, and Cudjoe, and as many others, as 
there may be columns^ as interpreters to 
columns - - - - 1 00 " " 

One drover to each column - - 1 50 " - 

WILEY THOMPSON 
J. B, F. RUSSELL. 
Capt. U. & Army 



Semixole Agency. Gctober 2S. 1S34. 

Sir : Permit me to recommend earnestly the appointment of Mr. D. M. 
Sheffield, late sub-agent, as assistant to the special agent, for the removal of 
the Seminole Indians. 

Mr. Sheffield is a man of acknowledged inflexible integrity, of steady 
habits, persevering and efficient. As sub-agent, he was faithful and prompt, 
notwithstanding the pay which he received was too small to excite to vigi- 
lant action. I trust, therefore, that the honorable Secretary of War will 
confirm him as assistant agent. 

Presuming that a principal and general interpreter will be necessary in 
the general operation in removing the Seminole Indians, I earnestly recom- 
mend Mr. Stephen Richards. .And it is the opinion of Captains Graham, 
and Russell, that his services here, as interpreter, during the arrangements to 
.be made, preliminary to the removal of the Indians, are very important, as 
Cudjoe has but a very imperfect knowledge of the English language, and that 
Richards ought to be called to this post immediately: with their opinion, 
my own fully corresponds. The employment of Richards, however, ought 
not to supersede Cudjoe, the present interpreter, for, having been faithful 
should he now be dismissed, it might excite in him revengeful feelings. 
Should the Department think proper to engage the services of Richards, T 
have no doubt that I can induce Cudjoe to be content with a smaller allow- 
ance than has been heretofore made to him. 

WILEY THOMPSON, 
Agent Florida Indians. 

Elbert Herring, Esq, 



Seminole Agexcy, December 12, 1S34, 

Sir : Your letter of the 24th ultimo, reached me by last night's mail, ac- 
companied by a speech, which I am instructed to deliver to the chiefs of this 
tribe. In this speech you intimate an intention of removing these Indians in 
divided portions, at different periods. I beg leave to submit to you, very 
respectfully, some reasons why they should be removed all at once, and as 
early as practicable. 

There are many very likely slaves in this nation, to a considerable por= 
tioii of which, there are conflicting claims held by white persons. An In- 
dian wonan, named Nelly Factor, inherited from her father a considerable 



["Doc. No. £71. ] 



155 



number, which are claimed by John Wmstell, as agent for William Kanard' 
a Creek Indian, who was a nephew of Black Factor, the father of Nelly 
under the old Indian law, which preferred the issue of the sister of the de- 
ceased, instead of his reputed children. During the agency of Colonel Gad 
Humphreys, the contest between Nelly Factor, and Willian Kanard, was 
submitted to a council of this nation. The evidence, on which the decision 
of the question of right was founded, was given by the chiefs Walker, 
Pechassie, and Econchattemicco, living on the Appal achieola, and Chatta- 
hoochee rivers. They state that they were present when Black Factor, on 
his death bed, willed to his daughter Nelly all the negroes which he died 
possessed of, as owner. On this evidence, the old Indian law was over- 
ruled by the council, which set the claim of Kanard aside, and thus con- 
firmed the claim of Nelly. And, strange to tell, the council decided, at the 
same time, that part of the negroes of which Black Factor died possessed, 
was the property of one Ann Burgess, a mixed blood Indian woman. These 
decisions, with the evidence I have recapitulated, are on record, certified by 
Colonel Gad Humphreys, as agent. 

There is no evidence on record, connected with the decision in favor of 
Ann Burgess, in support of that decision. 

i have been informed that Colonel Humphreys was a claimant under Ann 
Burgess, and that he transferred the claim to Mr. George Center. I have 
been told that this claim was subsequently set aside by the Council ; I pre- 
sumeon the ground, that the evidence which set aside Kanard's claim, gave 
the whole of the negroes, of which Black Factor died possessed, to his 
daughter. There is, I am informed, another claim to the whole of the ne- 
groes owned by Nelly, in the name of Floyd, founded on a bill of sale, al- 
leged to have been made by Nelly. She says that Floyd imposed upon her 
by presenting, for her signature, a bill of saie for all of her negroes, instead 
of a written authority to him to recover some for her. I have seen no per- 
son who pretends to say that Floyd paid her for the negroes ; on the contra- 
ry, the universal impression is, as far as I can learn, that she was grossly 
imposed upon. None of these claims have been mentioned to me, by ihe 
persons interested, except by Kanard, through his agent, Mr. John Winstell. 
All the other parties interested reside, I believe, in Florida. 

Colonel Humphreys was elected a member of the Legislative Council of 
Florida, and 1 am authorized by Captain Graham to say, that, with a view 
to his election, he urged that the Territorial jurisdiction ought, by the Legis- 
lative Council, at the next session, to be extended over the Indians. He 
went to the north, resigned, and another is elected to fill his vacancy. It is 
said that the claims alluded to, are held in reserve, to be urged according to 
circumstances, and that a combined effort will be made, during this session 
of the council, to extend the jurisdiction of the Territory over these Indians, 
even in defiance of Executive sanction ; in other words, by a vote of two- 
thirds. Were this done, there would be a scramble in the Territorial courts, 
by these adverse and conflicting claimants, for Nelly Factor's negroes, and 
she would probably lose them, as Indian laws and Indian evidence would 
not avail her, but as opposed to an Indian claim. 

How many more claims would be set up for Nelly's negroes, or the ne- 
groes of other Indians, under such circumstances, cannot be conjectured. 
I presume that the act of last session of Congress, discontinuing this agency, 
after the thirty-first of the present month, was passed under the impression 
that the removal of these Indians would be accomplished within the present 



156 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



year: as, by the treaty, the Indians are entitled to an agent white they re- 
main here. I therefore suppose that the commencement of the emigration 
will terminate this agency. If, under such circumstances, a part of the 
Indians remain, while others are removing, those that may be left will 
probably fall a prey to the combination, which I verily believe exists, 
the object of which, I have no doubt, is to keep the Indians here until, 
by some fortuitous concurrence of circumstances, no matter what, the ne- 
groes now in their possession can be wrested from them. I am therefore 
decidedly of opinion, that the salvation of these people depends upon a 
removal of them all at once, and as early as practicable. In antici- 
pation of the arrival of General Clinch at this post, I withheld this 
communication with a view to consult him on the subject; and I am 
happy to use the authority which he gives me. of saying that he fully 
accords with me in this opinion. Having been long acquainted with 
these Indians, the character of the population surrounding them, and the 
localities of the country, so favorable to the corrupt views and projects of 
the rapaciously avaricious, he not only considers it very important that the 
Indians should be removed all at once, and as early as practicable, but to 
protect them against the possible avarice and ambition of their more nume- 
rous brethern of the west, they ought to be located at their new home in a 
separate body. Candor requires me to say, that at least the protection 
which would be afforded to these people by settlement in a separate body, 
against the claim of the Creeks, for a large negro property now in this na- 
tion, is due to these people, until an adjustment of the contested claim can 
be effected, and other personal rights and honorary distinctions secured to 
them. . I beg leave to refer you to my general report, now in the office of 
Indian Affairs, addressed to Governor Duval, in January last, for my views 
at length upon this point. 

Should an attempt be made by any of the conflicting claimants alluded 
to, or by any other person, with or without the aid of an act of the Legisla- 
tive Council, extending the jurisdiction of the Territory over these Indians, 
to wrest from Indian owners, negroes so claimed, either before or after the 
Indians may commence their removal, by the intervention of the Territorial 
authority, or the authority of any State through which they may pass. 1 
shall feel it my duty to resist and perforce, if need be, any and all such 
attempts, which I am resolved to do, unless restrained by positive instruc- 
tions from you. According to the intercourse laws, and the regulations of 
the Department of War, predicated upon those laws, all claims against 
these Indians should be submitted to the agent, and by him be reported to 
you. The withholding the claims alluded to. justifies the suspicion that the 
claimants design to evade the intercourse laws, and the regulations of your 
Department, by seizing upon some opportunity to avail themselves of Terri- 
torial or State jurisdiction, and thus accomplish the contemplated fraud, by 
excluding Indian laws, and Indian evidence ; and this view of the subject 
affords an additional reason why the Indians should be removed by water, 
as a removal fry water would avoid the embarrassments which might result 
from attempts to interpose Territorial or State authority, in favor of t&e 
claimants, should the movement be made by land. 

On the 2d inst. I enclosed to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the 
copy of a letter addressed to me by Mr. Stephen Richards, advising me of 
the probability of being able to effect the removal of the bands of Indians 
located on the Appalachicola and Chattahoochee rivers, should I make them 



[ Doc. No. 211. ] 



157 



a visit in a short lime. With a view, to accomplish a final settlement of 
the business of the late superinteadency of Indian Affairs in Florida, I 
have asked for funds to pay all balances due from the Government. An 
effort to remove those Indians, as well as the duty of closing the unsettled 
business of the superintendency, will bring- me into the neighborhood of the 
Chattahoochee river, not very far below where the wretch who swindled Blunt 
and Davy, is now fattening on the spoils. This man, Beattie, t© effect his 
object, did, I have very little doubt, commit forgery and perjury. He pre- 
sented a petition in the name of Cochrane, and supported it by his affi- 
davit as Cochrane's agent. Cochrane died shortly after he signed the treaty 
under which Blunt and Davy emigrated. Beattie could not therefore be 
Cochrane's agent, nor could the petition which he swore to, have been 
signed by Cochrane. If I am correct in this view of the subject, Beattie 
may be convicted, first for swindling, secondly for forgery, and thirdly for 
perjury, while at the same time an action at law for the recovery of the 
money, and the negroes of which he swindled those chiefs, may be sus- 
tained. If my official duties should carry me into that section of country, 
may I, with your authority, institute the proceeding suggested above against 
Beattie ? 

I have very little doubt, that the instructions of the several suggested pro- 
' seditions would force him to a comprormse that would reinstate Blunt and 
Davy, should Beattie have in his possession or power, the requisite means. 
The three several objects enumerated, if practicable, can be accomplished 
during the same vi^it to that section of the Territory, should it be thought 
expedient to furnish me with the requsite authority and funds. 

Yours, (fee. 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Hon. Lewis ( 'aks. 



Seminole Agency, Dec. 23, 1834. 
Sir: On the receipt of your instructions, of the 28th ult. I immediately 
summoned a few of the chiefs adjacent to this place : I told them that I 
had received a written speech, with instruction from you to deliver it to 
the chiefs of this nation, and I directed them to consult among themselves, 
fix upon the day of meeting, and send runners with orders to the chiefs to 
assemble on the day to be appointed. They replied that a large majority 
of the Indians were out on their annual hunting expeditions, and widely 
scattered, as they were and almost entirely dependent for support upon the 

fame which they can glean from the wild forests, (a precarious depen- 
ence,) they could not be assembled under two or three months, as many of 
them having roamed to a considerable distance, would not consent to abam 
dan the pursuit on which alone they can depend to save themselves and 
families from starvation. I had been previously informed that many of 
them were roaming that wild tract of country, on the Peninsula, called the 
Everglades, perhaps a distance of a hundred miles or more beyond the 
Indian boundary. Satisfied that it would be impossible to collect them in 
time to effect the contemplated object, I directed the chiefs present to as- 
semble all that could be found, at the earliest day practicable. They ap- 
pointed the 25th inst. for the meeting, on the evening of which day a few 
of them arrived. On the succeeding day, chiefs, sub-chiefs, and common 
ndians, to the number of perhaps one hundred and fifty, met me in emm 



158 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



cii, to whom I read your speech, explained it, and enforced it by such con- 
siderations as occurred to me, of which however my talk them in council, 
in October last may in substance be considered a transcript. I repeated 
what I had told them before, that they would be compelled by force to 
remove, should they not do so willingly, and I admonished them of the 
importance to themselves and people, of a faithful and honest relation by 
them to the absentees of what you said to them. 

After the business was disposed of in form, Powell, a bold, manly and 
determined young chief, who has perhaps been more virulently opposed to 
removal than any other, made some remarks, in the council, evidently 
under excited feelings : I at once entered into a free and forcible conversa- 
tion with him, in which I expressed my regret that a chief who had acted 
so manly and correct in all other matters, should have got his own consent 
to act so dishonorably, in reference to the treaty of Payne's Landing. He 
replied, that he looked to the Camp Moultrie treaty as the one in force. I 
asked him if he did not consider his people free to change one bargain by 
making another; seeing the force of that, he said, that as I was bound to obey 
the President, so he was to obey the chiefs over him. I replied that the 
President backed by the Secretary of War, and the whole Congress, should 
never compel me to act so dishonorably, as to violate the treaty with his 
people ; that were it possible for this be required of me, I would spurn the 
President's commission and retire to the bosom of my family ; and I told 
him that he was acting dishonorably, and beneath the dignity of his char- 
acter, by his obedience to his chiefs in opposition to a solemn treaty. I 
told him that even with that great fault hanging as a clog on his character, 
I still loved him, and I still cherished the hope that he would shortly see his 
error, assume the man fully, then I could receive him as a friend and 
cherish him in my heart as a brother. I asked how such a man as he is 
could get his consent to try to cheat the United States, out of the large sum 
of money they had already paid, under the stipulations of the treaty. I 
told him that it was grossly dishonorable. I then asked him if any act, 
or any word of mine, had shown any unkindness, or want of friendship 
towards him or his people ? He, with emphasis, replied, " I know you are 
my friend and friend to my people." The others gave a like response to a 
similar question. I then admonished Powell to treat me as a friend by 
relying on my professions and counsel. During the conversation the other 
Indians paid devoted, and I thought delighted attention. The result was 
that we closed with the utmost good feeling, and I have never seen Powell 
and the other chiefs so cheerful and in so fine a humor, at the close of a 
discussion upon the subject of their removal. 

I have the honor to be, 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Hon. Lewis Cas3. 



War Department, 

January, 1, 1835. 

Sir : You are hereby appointed special agent to superintend the removal 
of the Florida Indians, to the west of the Mississippi Your duties will 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 159 

!>c confined to the east side of the Mississippi, should the Indians go by 
land ; and if by water, to some point 6f landing on that river, hereafter to 
he designated. The nature of your duties will be found in the " regula- 
tions concerning the removal of the Indians," and in a "memorandum" 
iu relation thereto, both of which will be furnished you by the commissary 
general of subsistence, who will also give you more specific instructions, 
and to whom you will report for duty. 

It is understood, however, that in addition to the duties confided to you 
as above mentioned, for which your compensation will be two thousand 
dollars per annum, you will perform without additional compensation ail 
the ordinary functions of an Indian agent. 

Respectfully, <fcc. 

LEWIS CASS. 

Gen, Wiley Thompson, 

Seminole Agency, Florida. 



Washington, January 6, 1835. 
Sir : Should the office of disbursing agent, for the removal of Seminole 
or Florida Indians, become vacated, 1 desire that my application for said 
appointment, dated in November or December, 1833, may be favorably 
remembered. 

I have the honor to be, &c. 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, 

Lieutenant Dis. Agent, (late of) Cherokees.. 

Brig. Gen. Geo. Gibson, 

Commissary General, tW". 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Subsistence, January 7, 1835. 
Sir : Enclosed you will find your appointment by the Secretary of War, 
of special agent and superintendent of the removal of the Florida Indians, 
with a copy of the <; regulations," (fee. relating to the removal and subsist- 
ence of Indians. 

As you are to perform the functions of Indian agen.t, in addition to those 
of superintendent of Indian removal, you will of course have some correspon- 
dence relating exclusively to those functions, such will be addressed as 
heretofore ; but every thing having connection with the duties of your new 
appointment will be addressed in accordance with the direction at page 1 
of the "regulations." 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEORGE GIBSON, C 6r. & 

Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

Sup. Rem, Florida Indians, Seminole Indians, 



160 



[ Doe. No. snrt-.-"'] 



Emigration of lit j>r Axis 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. January 12, 1835. 

Sir: Your letter dated 28th October to the Commissioner of Indian Af- 
fairs, was referred to me some time since: and I have deferred replying 
until some additional information should be received with respect to the 
removal of the Florida Indians. 

The recommendation of Mr. D. M. Sheffield, late sub-agent, as assistant 
agent to special agent; and of Mr. Stephen Richards, as principal interpre- 
ter, will receive due consideration. The necessity of the immediate ap- 
pointment of the latter is not so apparent now as when you wrote. Should 
you, however, find his presence absolutely indispensable before you can 
get authority to appoint him, you will temporarily engage him, giving me 
notice of the same. 

Respectfullv, &c. 

GEORGE GIBSON, C G. S. 

Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

Sap. Rem. Florida Indians. Sem. Agency. 



Extract from a letter of the Secretary of War. dated, War Department, 
February 18, 1835, to General Wiley Thompson, Superintendent 
Seminole Removal, Seminole Agency, Florida. 

" You will receive from the subsistence office detailed instructions re- 
specting your conduct and compensation. My object in this communica- 
tion is to convey to you the general views of the President in relation to 
the course to be pursued towards those Indians. The letters heretofore 
received from you, as well as a more recent communication from General 
Clinch, renders it doubtful whether the Seminole Indians intend to com- 
ply with the stipulations for their removal. General Clinch expresses him- 
self decidedly that they will not go unless a respectable force be emplo}red, 
and that it is very probable that such a force would have to be actually 
used in effecting the object. Independently of the disastrous consequences 
that must ensue to themselves from their attempt at a permanent residence 
where they now are, General Clinch anticipates that such an attempt would 
involve the neighboring region in war, as well with these Indians as with 
the runaway negroes among them, and others who might join them. 
Under these circumstances, the President has deemed it indispensable that 
they should be required to remove. Orders have been given for four 
more companies to join General Clinch, making the force under 
that officer, ten companies. I indulge the confident expectation that 
the appearance, and proper distribution of this force, together with 
firmness and discreet conduct on the part of yourself and General 
Clinch, will induce these deluded people to comply with their own positive 
stipulations. I enclose copies of the letter addressed to General Clinch, 
and of the message of the President to the Indians transmitted with it. 
Although your own duties relate to the necessary intercourse with the In- 
dians, to the business connected with their removal, and those of General 
Clinch to the command of the military force, and to its proper employment 
for the protection of the country, and for carrying into effect the instruc- 
tions given him, still the public interest requires that there should be a free 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



161 



and unreserved communication between yourself and that officer. You 
will, therefore, disclose to him fully all your proceedings, and advise with 
him as to the conduct to be pursued. The first object will be to convene 
the Indians, and to read to them the message of the President. You will 
then explain to them fully the stipulations they have entered into, and 
what is expected from them ; and you will announce to them the final deter- 
mination of the President that they must remove. In addition to this, 
you will use all your influence, as well in public councils as in private in- 
terviews, to induce them to comply with the treaties. It is exceedingly 
desirable that they should go voluntarily. The President is very reluctant 
to employ any force in effecting this object, and it must be only done in the 
last resort, and when all other means fail. One-third of these Indians is 
to be removed during the present season agreeably to the stipulations of 
the treaty, and as that proportion first to go, is provided for in the treaty, 
that part of them will be first removed." 



Seminole Agency, January 27, 1835. 
Sir : Your letter of advice, of the 7th instant, accompanied by a letter 
from the Secretary of War, appointing me special agent to superintend the 
removal of the Florida Indians west of the Mississippi, was received by 
this day's mail. 

As Indian agent, I am under instructions from the Commissioner of In- 
dians Affairs, to visit the bands of Indians on the Appalachicola and Chat- 
tahoochie rivers, on business connected with Indian affairs, after disposing 
of which, I shall avail myself of permission given, to absent myself from 
this agency three weeks, and on my return, which will be in five or six 
weeks, shall be ready and happy to receive your instructions. 

With this report of myself to you for duty, permit me to suggest that 
the military force stationed in, and on the border of this nation, is not 
large enough to effect the object for which it was intended. A large por- 
tion of these Indians are opposed to their intended removal ; and I have no 
donbt that interested designing persons tamper with them for the purpose 
of inflaming that opposition, in the hope that their removal may be retar- 
ded until some projects of speculation, and some fraudulent claims for a con- 
siderable number of slaves now in the possession of these Indians, can be 
successfully prosecuted. 

The command at Fort King and at Tampa Bay, is frittered down to a 
mere handfull, by details of parties to patrol the country adjacent to the 
Indian boundary, to drive the Indians and keep them within their limits, 
and commands to guard suspected trading houses near the Indian border. 
The chiefs most hostile to the intended removal have, very recently, more 
boldly than heretofore, denounced vengeance against any chief who shall 
consent to move. There are, as I am informed, many of the Seminole 
Indians far beyond the Indian boundary, in that wild and swampy region 
of Florida, called the Everglades, some of whom have not been within 
their boundary during several years past. The duty of guarding the lines; 
scouring the adjacent country by detachments of troops to bring strolling 
Indians within the boundary ; protecting the well disposed by prompt and 
active interposition if need be ; patrolling the neighborhood of the Ever- 
glades, for the purpose of bringing in the Indians who have wandered off 
11 



162 



[ Doc. No. £71. ] 



to that desolate region, and at the same time displaying at the posts miliary 
preparations, sufficiently imposing to overawe the refractory chiefs, requites 
a stronger force. 

I have heretofore submitted for the consideration of the Secretary of 
War, some reasons why these Indians should be removed all at the same 
time by toater, and as early as practicable. Do me the favor to inform, at 
Elherton, Georgia, what the decision of the Secretary of War is upon 
those points. 

If admissible, you will oblige me by forwarding to this agency, blank 
books and printed forms, suitable to the business which I have to do as 
special agent. 

Yours, &c. 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

General George Gibson, C. G. S. 



W"ar Department, 

February 16, 1835. 

Sir : Your letter of the 22d ultimo to the Adjutant General, has been 
laid before me, and I have now to communicate to you the views of the 
President on the questions connected with the Seminole Indians of Florida. 

It is very clear, as well from your statement repecting the peculiar con- 
dition of the Seminole Indians, as from the several considerations applica- 
ble to their case, that they cannot remain in the country now occupied by 
them. They have stipulated in the two treaties, ceding their possession in 
Florida, that they will remove to the country assigned to the Creek Indians 
west of the Mississippi. That this removal shall commence immediately 
after the ratification of the treaties, and that one-third of their people shall 
remove during each of the three succeeding years. I very much regret 
that bad counsels have operated to discourage their removal. But it is im- 
possible to yield to any wishes they may express on the subject. I fully ap 
preciate the consequences which you predict as likely to happen, from a 
forcible attempt on their part to remain. And the safety of that portion of 
the Territory imperatively requires that the treaty stipulations shall be carried 
i nto effect.- It is the ultimate decision, therefore, of the President, that they 
shall be removed. But it is very desirable that they should go peaceably 
and voluntarily. The whole subject should, therefore, be fully explained 
to them, and every proper inducement held out for their compliance with 
the treaties. Let them be reasoned with, and, if possible, convinced. Let 
every measure, short of actual force, be first used. Let them be made fully 
aware of the consequences. And then, if it be necessary, let actual force, 
be employed and iheir removal effected. 

It will be perceived by the sixth article of the treaty of April 8, 1832, that 
the emigation was to commence in 1833. This was rendered impracticable 
by the condition annexed to the treaty, that a delegation of their principal 
chiefs should examine the country west, of the Mississippi, and signify their 
acceptance of it. This was not done in time to procure the ratification of the 
treaty before the last session of Congress adjourned. Since then, this De- 
partment has endeavored to make amicable arrangements with these In- 
dians for their removal. 

, The persons to be first removed will be those described in the 7th article 
,.as occupying the Big swamp and other portions of the country mentioned* 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



163 



Four additional companies have been order to join you, and this force 
will be employed in the protection of the country, and in the removal of the 
Indians. The superintendence of the business of removal will be commit- 
ted to General Thompson, who will receive specific instructions for his con- 
duct, and who will be required to communicate with you, and I have to re- 
quest, that in all matters connected with this subject you will give to Gen- 
eral Thompson the benefit of your advice. 

A copy of the instructions to him will be transmitted to you as soon as 
they are prepared. 

I enclose also a message from the President of the United States to the 
Indians. You will be pleased, in conjunction with General Thompson, to 
summon the principal Indian chiefs together, and to communicate to them 
this message ; and to enforce upon them, as far as you can, the necessity 
of a compliance with it. 

The necessary military orders for your government will be communi- 
cated through the proper department. 

The whole matter presents considerations of a very important character, 
and the President relies not less upon the discretion, than upon the firmness 
of General Thompson and yourself in its management. 

Act with as much mildness and forbearance as may be compatible with 
the main object. 

Very repectfully, 

LEWIS CASS. 

To Brevet Brig. Gen. Clinch, 

United States Army. Fort King, Florida. 



To the Chiefs and Warriors of the Seminole Indians in Florida, 

My Children : I am sorry to have heard that you have been listening to 
bad counsels. You know me, and you know that I would not deceive, nor 
advise you to do any thing that was unjust or injurious. Open your ears 
and attend to what I shall now say to you. They are the words of a friend, 
and the words of truth. 

The white people are settling around you. The game has disappeared 
from your country. Your people are poor and hungry. All this you have per- 
ceived for sometime. And nearly three years ago, you made an agreement 
with your friend, Colonel Gadsden, acting on the part of the United States, 
by which you agreed to cede your lands in Florida, and to remove and join 
your brothers, the Creeks, in the country west of the Mississippi. You an- 
nexed a condition to this agreement, that certain chiefs, named therein, in 
whom you placed confidence, should proceed to the western country, and 
examine whether it was suitable to your wants and habits ; and whether 
the Creeks residing there, were willing to permit you to unite with them 
as one people ; and if the persons thus sent, were satisfied on these heads, 
then the agreement made with Colonel Gadsden was to be in full force. 

In conformity with these provisions the chiefs, named by you, proceeded 
to that country, and having examined it, and having become satisfied re- 
specting its character and the favorable disposition of the Creeks, they en- 
tered into an agreement with commissioners on the part of the United 
States, by which they signified their satisfaction on these subjects, and finally 
ratified the agreement made with Colonel Gadsden. 



164 



[ Doc. No, 271. ] 



I now learn that you refuse to carry into effect the solemn promises thus 
made by you. and that you have stated to the officers of the United States, 
sent among you, that you will not remove to the western country. 

My Children : I have never deceived, nor will I ever deceive, any of 
the red people. T tell you that you must go, and that you will go. Even if 
you had a right to stay, how could you live where you now are? You have 
sold all your country. You have not a piece as large as a blanket to sit down 
upon. What is to support yourselves, your women and children ? The tract 
you have ceded will soon be surveyed and sold, and immediately afterwards 
will be occupied by a white population. You will soon be in a state of starva- 
tion . You will commit depredations upon the property of our citizens. Yon 
will be resisted, punished, perhaps killed. Now, is it not better peaceably to 
remove to a fine fertile country occupied by your own kindred, and where 
you can raise all the necessaries of life, and where game is yet abundant 1 
The annuities payable to you, and the other stipulations made in your favor, 
will make your situation comfortable, and will enable you to increase and 
improve. If, therefore, yon had a right to stay where you now are, still 
every true friend would advise you to remove. But you have no right to 
stay, and you must go. I am very desirous that you should go peaceably 
and voluntarily. You shall be comfortably taken care of and kindly treated 
on the road, and when you arrive in your new country, provisions will be 
issued to you for a year, so that you can have ample time to provide for 
your future support. 

But lest some of your rash young men should forcibly oppose your ar- 
rangements for removal, 1 have ordered a large military force to be sent 
among you. I have directed the commanding officer, and likewise the 
agent, your friend, General Thompson, that every reasonable indulgence be 
held out to you. But I have also directed that one-third of your people as 
provided for in the treaty be removed during the present season. If you 
listen to the voice of friendship and truth, you will go quietly and volun- 
tarily. But should you listen to the bad birds that are always flying about 
vou, and refuse to remove, I have then directed the commanding officer to 
remove you by force. This will be done. I pray the Great Spirit, there- 
fore, to incline you to do what is right. 

Your friend, 

A. JACKSON. 

Washington, February 16, 1835. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub., February 28, 1835. 

Sir : The Secretary of War has given you the general views of the Pre- 
sident in relation to the course to be pursued towards the Seminole Indians, 
in the effort about to be made to remove a portion of them to their country 
west of the Mississippi. The following will contain the necessary instruc- 
tions for the active operations of removal, in detail. 

There are two routes, either of which may be taken ; one by land, as in- 
dicated in the joint report of yourself and Captain Russell, dated 26th Oc- 
tober 1834 ; the other by water, also laid down in that report, except that 
the steam-boats will go from New Orleans to Rock Row on White river, in 
stead of attempting to ascend the Arkansas. 

Is*. The land route. The wish of the Secretary of War is that, this 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



165 



route be not taken, unless the Indians go voluntarily, and the route be at 
this season deemed practicable. Should this be the case, you will require 
from the disbursing agent, Lieut. J. W. Harris, the transportation and subsist- 
ence in accordance with the regulations. As the extent of the means of 
transportation and subsistence, must be dependent upon the number of the 
emigrants, great care will be taken to ascertain their probable number. It 
is believed that there will not be time to enter into contracts lor provisions 
before starting. The disbursing agent will be. specially instructed on this 
subject 

The Indians will assemble at Fort King at a prescribed time, say two 
weeks from the date of meeting them in council. They will be fed during 
the time oi assemblage. The day before starting they will be enrolled by 
heads of families, and divided into three parties of about five hundred each. 
The parties will start on the same day, but keep an hour's march apart. 
Lieut. Harris will take charge of the first party, with the care, in his branch 
of the duty, of the whole ; and each of the other parties will be conducted 
by an officer of the army, who will be guided in the performance of his 
duties by the instructions given to the disbursing agent 

To each party there will be. an assistant conductor, to act also as an issu- 
ing agent, whose duty it will be to attend to the witnessing of the issues of 
the provisions, when they are received under contract, and to make the 
issues himself when they are procured by purchase. There will also be 
an interpreter to each party, and, when necessary, a drover or laborer. The 
whole to be superintended by you. 

2d. The water route. Should it be determined to move the Indians by 
water, the number will be ascertained as nearly as possible ; and you will 
require from the disbursing agent as many tons of shipping as may be 
deemed requisite to transport them in comfort and safety to New Orleans. 
The instructions ot the disbursing agent will point out what steps he is to 
take, in regard to the procurement of vessels and steam-boats, and the. fitting 
them for transports. You will see that they are calculated to answer the 
purposes for which they are intended, and that the emigrants are not 
crowded. 

As soon as the emigrants are on board their respective vessels, they will 
be enrolled. You will take charge of one of the vessels, the disbursing 
agent of another, and an officer, to be detailed as before mentioned, of each 
of the others. 

I am impressed with the belief that it will be conducive to the health of 
the Indians, to stop a few days near New Orleans, before embarking on the 
Mississippi. This will be done, provided circumstances favor it, for unac- 
customed as the Indians are to the restraint and confinement incident to 
shipboard, it is feared that disagreeable consequences may flow from a con- 
tinuous travel in that way, from the first place of embarkation to the stop - 
ping place on White river, a distance that, under the most favorable circum- 
stances, must take nearly two weeks to accomplish. 

A muster will take place when the emigrants go on board the steam-boats, 
and all changes will be noted in the margin of the new rolls. 

The demurrage of both sea vessels and steam-boats, will, of course, be 
very heavy : it is therefore desirable, that as little time be lost as possible, 
after the transports are under pay ; still it may be proper to stop once or 
twice on the Mississippi, and suffer the Indians to recruit themselves for a 
few hours on shore. This is entirely discretionary with you, and will de- 
pend upon circumstances of which you will be able to judge. 



166 



[ Boe. No. 271. ] 



At Rock Row it may be advisable to delay a day to refresh the emigran ts 
and to prepare for their land travel. Here, prior to starting, the rolls will 
be corrected, and the land will conform to the steam-boat parties. 

At this point you will leave the Indians, and return to Florida, having 
had such an understanding with the disbursing agent as will enable you 
mutually to comprehend the course to be pursued, touching the various mat- 
lers in which concurrent action is requisite. 

From Rock Row to their new country. Captain Brown will have made 
ample preparations for their transportation and subsistence. And to this 
poiut it is contemplated to order William Armstrong, Esq. superintendent 
of Indian removal west of the Mississippi river, who will accompany the 
Seminoles to their new country. 

From New < Orleans, each steam-boat will have a conductor, an assistant 
conductor to act as issuing agent, &c. and an interpreter. If officers of the 
army accompany the expedition, one will take charge of each boat as 
conductor. All other agents or laborers will be discharged at New Or- 
leans, at which place their pay will cease. 

A physician of skill and character may be employed to accompany the 
emigrants all the way, to whom will be paid going, not more than five dol- 
lars per day, the sum mentioned in your report, with his actual expense? 
whilst travelling with the Indians, and ten cents a mile with a day's pay 
for every thirty miles, returning ; and no other allowance. Officers of the 
army, acting as conductors, will get their actual expenses, going and return 
ing. Should a conductor be employed, there being no officer, he will be 
allowed four dollars per day. Assistant conductors three dollars, interpre- 
ters at the wages named in your report, to wit : a dollar a day, if they can 
be obtained for that, if not, you can give any compensation within the 
limit of the regulations. The conductor, assistant and interpreter, are enti- 
tled to their actual expenses going, and if they return, to ten cents per 
mile. Their pay will cease immediately on the termination of their active 
duties, You will be allowed your actual travelling expenses whilst going 
with the Indians, and ten cents per mile returning. Whatever appoint- 
ments may be made, will be immediately notified to me, with the date of 
commencing duty, &c. 

The actual expenses of agents will be ascertained by each keeping a 
memorandum book, which the disbursing agents will furnish, in which 
will be entered, daily, the expenses incident to the travel. So much of this 
route being by water, it is believed that such expenditures will be trifling, 
But the utmost particularity will be observed, for where there is much 
looseness in the mode of keeping the account, the disbursing agent will not 

P a y- - ' . ' ' • \ 

All payments for transportation and for compensation of agents will be 
made upon your sanction expressed in writing on the bill, or upon a written, 
requisition. 

You will keep a journal of occurrences, commencing with the day of 
beginning to assemble the Indians. In it you will briefly express every 
incident of any kind of importance. Experience shows a well kept jour- 
nal to be of great assistance in the elucidation of the transactions of Indian 
emigration. It is also calculated to facilitate the settlement of accounts. 

If the emigration is by water, the Indian horses may be driven round 
by land, under the care of a trust-worthy agent, who will be pa d $2 50 
a day. He will take with him as small a number of Indians as may be 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



167 



needed to assisist him 1 ; to one or two of them a small sum, say $20, may 
be given, by way of inducement to exertion and activity. A sufficient 
amount of money to meet the wants of the party will be confided to the 
agent, who will be required to exhibit bills for every considerable purchase, 
with a regular memorandum of his daily expenditures, exhibiting clearly 
every date, place, and transaction. This book may also be his journal. The 
disbursing agent will instruct him more particularly. He will be entitled 
to no return pay, but ten cents a mile travelling expenses to the place of 
starting. 

The Secretary prefers, as you do, the water route decidedly. It is indeed, 
extremely doubtful whether the Indians can be got through by land. But 
of this you must be the judge. As soon as possible, after your decision is 
made, you will write to Captain Jacob Brown, principal disbursing; agent, 
removal of Indians, Little Rock, and inform him of the number of emi- 
grants,- and the probable time of reaching Memphis by land, or Rock Row 
by the water route. It is extremely important that he should receive 
early and accurate information. In stating the number of Indians, err on 
the safe side ; say rather under, than over, what you have every reason 
to believe will be the number. If the day of your starting or embarka- 
tion, and the probable time of arrival and delay at New Orleans, could be 
given, the time of arrival at Rock Row might readily be calculated, by 
estimating the usual -time of a passage up the Mississippi to the point of de- 
barkation. If you deem it necessary, you can despatch letters to be placed 
in the New Orleans post office, by a special messenger. 

The general instructions of the Secretary of War, with the foregoing 
detail, and a copy of Lieutenant Harris's instructions, will, with the regu- 
lations, furnish you with an ample fund of information, as regards the 
nature of your duties and the mode of their performance. There are, 
however, many things which must be left to your discretion. It is not 
possible to foresee the contingencies that may arise, and it would be useless 
to attempt to anticipate them. The utmost confidence is placed in your 
exercising a wise forecast in providing for the difficulties that beset the enter- 
prise, and in using the powers confided to you in the most energetic, and 
at the same time, the most benevolent manner. It is all important too, that 
economy should be observed in every thing connected with the removal. 
There are so many sources of expenditure, that they must all be guarded 
with great and unrelaxing vigilance. Let nothing that takes the money of 
the public needlessly, exist a moment. A most fruitful source of expendi- 
ture will be found in the agents. Of these, employ the smallest number 
that may be consistent with efficiency. 

You Will find herewith a copy of Lieutenant Harris's instructions, and 
of a circular respecting the mode in which he is to keep his accounts ; 
together with a copy of the printed regulations. Blank muster rolls will 
also be sent to you, and forms of requisition for compensation of persons 
employed. It may be well here to remark, that in cases of disallowance ot 
Lieutenant Harris's payments, made on 'y our requisitions, you become 
chargeable with the amounts thus disallowed. 

Lieutenant Harris will receive an ample supply of funds. Should more 
be needed, estimates will be made by him on data, to be furnished by you. 
He will be furnished with money to pay for the Seminole cattle, about 
which special instructions will be sent you in a few days. The articles 
stipulated to be furnished under the treaty, will be procured under con- 



168 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



tract ; the blankets at the north ; the frocks by you ; as to which you will 
also receive instructions hereafter. 

You will please to correspond very freely with this office, touching all 
matters of interest in the removal. The regulations require weekly reports. 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. & 

General Wilev Thompson, 

Sup. Rem. Florida Indians, Sem. Agency, Florida. 



Emigration of Tndians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. March 17, 1835. 
Sir : Enclosed are your instructions for the disbursing of moneys in 
the removal of the Seminoles. Y ou will proceed to act under them with- 
out delay. 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. S. 

Lieutenant J. W. Harris^ 

Disbursing Agent. Seminoles, Washington, D. C 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. February 28, 1835. 
Sir : You are hereby appointed disbursing agent, to the Seminole removal, 
and you will, without delay, proceed hence to the Seminole Agency, Flo- 
rida. 

The Secretary of War's general instructions to General Thompson, the 
superintendent of the removal, with the instructions in detail of this office, 
are enclosed ; together with other papers calculated to point out to you the 
situation of affairs among the Seminoles, and to make your duty as dis- 
bursing agent plain. 

Immediately upon your arrival at the agency, yoia will confer with Gen . 
Thompson, who will give you all the information he possesses in relation 
to your duties. 

You will meet his requisitions for subsistence, transportation, and con- 
tingencies, and make such preparations for either land or water transporta- 
tion as he may believe expedient. 

In case the emigrants go by land, you will procure the means of trans 
portation to go no farther than some point in Georgia, where other teams 
and wagons can be procured, which, if not at lower rates, will most pro- 
bably have the advantage of being of better quality. The transportation 
thus procured, should by no means go farther than the Mississippi, at Mem- 
phis, at which point fresh teams and wagons will be ready under direction 
of Captain Brown. 

Subsistence may at first be purchased from day to day. Afterwards it 
may be procured on contract, to be delivered at various points. The slow- 
ness with which the emigrants will proceed, will give you time to make 
your arrangements. On your arrival at Memphis, the contracts for sub- 
sistence, to be made by Captain Brown, will commence. 



[ Dec. No. 271. J 



169 



The agents to he employed, are mentioned in the instructions to General 
Thompson. 

If the water route is determined on, the superintendent will require you 
to procure vessels to cross the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans, and steam- 
boats to go from that place to Rock Row, on White river. Care will be 
taken to get no vessels that may not be of sufficiently small draught of water, 
to approach to within a proper distance of the point of embarkation, and 
to go through Lake Pontchartrain, whilst, at the same time, they should be 
safe and commodious as sea vessels. 

I will not indicate the point at which you will get the vessels. It is 
probable that you will have to seek them in more than one place. The 
steam-boats will be procured at New Orleans, and there may probably be 
chartered the greater part of the vessels. 

It may be doubted whether it will be advisable to engage the steam-boats 
in advance; the loss in demurrage by the sea vessels, will be sufficiently 
great, and it is believed, that such is the uncertainty of the time of reach- 
ing New Orleans, the expenses of the transportation would be immensely 
enhanced by pre-engaging steam-boats. And considering that it is desirable 
the Indians should rest a few days in the neighborhood of New Orleans, it 
can scarcely be doubted that steam-boats may be procured within the time 
allotted to the delay at that place. Both the steam-boats and other vessels 
will be properly fitted for the comfortable accommodation of the emigrants. 
Your experience in the water transportation of troops and Indians, will- 
readily suggest to you what should be done. 

Whether a part or all of the vessels are procured at New Orleans, you 
will purchase there a sufficient quantity of provisions to subsist the emi- 
grants in their passage • and should any be left, it can be transferred to the 
steam-boats, or sold. Great care should be taken to have a good supply of 
water casks, and sufficiently extensive accommodations for cooking on 
board of all the transports. There are other equally important matters, 
calculated to promote comfort, cleanliness, and health, which must be 
attended to, and without which, such is the character of the Indian, the 
most serious consequences may follow. 

In relation to the mode of accountability for the public moneys to be 
confided to you, I will refer you to the circular herewith, to many of the 
details of which you will call the attention of the superintendent. I will 
not enter more minutely into the other matters touching your duties, than 
I have already done in the foregoing. I confide in the experience you have 
already acquired, and the energy you have heretofore displayed, for the 
proper performance of the business assigned to you. I will remark, how- 
ever, that I look for the happiest results to an unrestrained co-operation and 
consultation with the superintendent. 

Your reports to this office will be as frequent as the nature of the service 
may permit or require. You will keep a brief journal of occurrences, and 
also an accurate account of all your personal expenditures. This latter 
becomes the more necessary, because of the proviso to a law passed on the 
3d of March, instant, which now precludes you from receiving the emolu- 
ments heretofore attached to the service in which you are now engaged. 
An account in the aggregate of these expenses, with a certificate on honor 
of its correctness, will answer. 

Complete sets of blank forms are furnished to you, and blank muster 
rolls and forms of requisition for pay, are with them, for the superintendent. 



170 [ Doc, No. 271. ] 

Funds will be provided for you as follows : 

At New York, on which place you may draw - - $15,000 00 

New Orleans H - - 10.000 00 

Tallahassee « " 5,000 00 



$•30,000 00 



Respectfully, &c. 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. S. 

Lieutenant J. W. Harris, 

Disbursing Agent, Seminoles, Washington. D. C. 



War Department, March 2, 1835. 

Sir : You are hereby appointed an assistant agent in the removal of the 
Seminole Indians. If you accept this appointment you will repair imme- 
diately to the Seminole agency, Florida, and report for duty to General 
Wiley Thompson, superintendent, and by letter to the Commissary Gene- 
ral ot Subsistence. Your pay will be four dollars a day, to commence 
on the day of your arrival at your point of destination, and you will re- 
ceive no other allowance, unless travelling west with the Indians, or return- 
ing from that duty ; in either case the allowance is expressed by the regu- 
lations, of which I send you a copy. 

Respectfully. &c. 

LEWIS CASS, 

Secretary of War. 

Joel Yancy, Esq. Glasgow. Kentucky. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. } March 7, 1835. 

Sir : 1 have received your letter of the 27th January. You will be in- 
formed of the views of the President and Secretary of War with regard to 
the Seminoles. before this arrives ; and you would at the same time re- 
ceive the instructions in detail of this office, but for unavoidable delay. 
They are completed and will be transmitted to you in a few days. 

Respectfully, &c. 

' GEORGE GIBSON, C G. S. 

Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

Sup. Rem. Sen?.. Indians, Seminole Agency. Florida. 



Glasgow, March 16, 1835. 

Sir: On the 14th instant I had the honor to receive from the honorable 
Lewis Cass, Secretary of War, the appointment of assistant agent for the 
removal of the Seminole Indians, with orders to report myself to General 
Wiley Thompson, at the Seminole agency, and repair thither immediately ; 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 171 

and in case of my accepting the appointment to notify yon, which I accord- 
ingly do. and shall repair to said agency with all possible despatch, and start 
in a few days. 

I have the honor to be, 

Most respectfully, 

Your most obedient servant 

JOEL YANCY. 

Gen. Geo. Gibson, Com. Gen. Sub. 



Baltimore, March 19, 1835. 
Sir : I have the honor to advise yon that I have this day drawn upon 
Manhattan Bank, New York, for $641 84, payable at one day's sight; this 
on account of subsistence of Indians; presuming that by the time the bill 
can be presented for payment funds will be in deposite there to my credit. 

The subsistence purchased will be shipped this evening, and wind and 
weather permitting; I shall sail in the morning for Savannah. 

I have the honor to be, &c, 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, 
Li. Dis. Agt. Seminole Indians. 

Brig. Gen. Geo. Gibson, 

Commissary General, 



Emigration of Indians. 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub., March 20, 1835. 
Sir: Your account for services, &c. as disbursing agent to the Seminoles 
has been examined, and found correct. The Treasury will advance on 
this account five hundred and three dollars and seventy-three cents. 

Respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

GEO. GIBSON, C, G. S. 

Capt. J. B. F. Russell. 

Dis. Agent Seminoles. Washington, D. C. 



Emigration of Indians. 
Office Com. Gen, of Sub. March 21, 1835. 
Sir : You will receive instructions from Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
to " pay annuities and make the other disbursements for the Indians in 
Florida.* Should this duty not interfere with your duties as disbursing 
agent, you will perform it ; but if it does, you will request General Clinch 
to appoint some other officer to relieve you from it, which I have the 
authority of the Secretary of War for saying will be done. 

Whatever of correspondence or accounts may be necessary under the 
instructions alluded to. will be kept separate from those of the removal and 
.subsistence. Respectfully, &c. 

GEORGE GIBSON, C G, & 

Lieut. Joseph W. Harris, 

Disbursing Agent, Seminoles, 

Seminole Agency, Florida. 



172 [ Doc. No 271. ] 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. March 26, 1835. 
Sir : I am directed by the Secretary of War to say, that in consequence 
of the representations received at the War Department, from Governor 
Eaton, the Seminole Indians will be removed by water. This instruction 
is deemed necessary because your general instructions provide for removal 
by water only in a certain contingency. 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEORGE GIBSON, C. G. S. 

Gen. Wiley' Thompson, 

Sup. Sem. Removal, 

Seminole Agency, Florida. 



Department of War, March, 27, 1835. 

Sir: I have had the honor to receive your letter of the 8th instant, and 
have laid it before the President. 

The question presented in it respecting the validity of the obligation of 
the Seminole Indians to remove from Florida, has been submitted to the 
Attorney General, and that officer has decided that the obligation of the 
treaty is not affected by the delay which has taken place in its ratification, 
but that the Indians may be required to remove in the years 1835, 1836, 
and 1837. Instructions therefore have been given to General Clinch to pro- 
ceed to the execution of the measures directed, should he have delayed 
doing so in consequence of your letter. A copy of the communication to 
him is herewith enclosed. 

The President is fully aware of the difficulties involved in this subject. 
But from the reports heretofore received from General Clinch, and General 
Thompson, it is evident that nothing short of the display of a respectable 
force will induce those deluded Indians to comply with their engagements. 
There are ten companies placed under the orders of General Clinch for 
the execution of this duty, and that number is believed to be sufficient to 
prevent the Seminoles from the commission of any hostile acts. Those 
officers have been directed to use every means in their power by persua- 
sion and remonstrance to induce the Indians to go. It is with extreme 
reluctance that the President would assent to the emplojnnpnt of force. 
But what is to be done? It is manifest that this tribe cannot live where 
they now are. Every year they are reduced to extreme distress, and time 
after time applications have been made to the Government to provide the 
means of saving them from starvation. An ample country has been 
assigned to them west of the Mississippi, where many of fneir brethren 
have already gone, and where, with very little exertion and industry, they 
can improve and flourish. Advantageous stipulations have been made for 
them, to secure their comfortable transportation, their subsistence for a year, 
and such other benefits including annuities, &c. as have been offered to 
other Indians. Must we then yield to a false humanity, or to the efforts of 
interested individuals desirous for their own purposes to retain these 
Indians, and thus suffer them eventually to perish? and this too after having 
involved the white settlements around them in ruins, which we have rea- 
son to fear from the representations that have been made ? Or is it not bet- 
er, by firmness and decision, at once to satisfy them that they must go, and 



[ Doc, No. 271. ] 



173 



thus comply with their own engagements, and save them from the destruc- 
tion that otherwise awaits them ? 

Your suggestions concerning the propriety of removing them by water, 
are certainly correct, and the removing agent has been directed to adopt 
that course if it be practicable. 

The statement which you understand them to make respecting the occu- 
pation of a separate district in the Creek country west, I consider of no sort 
of consequence. They are essentially one people with the Creeks, and 
there is land enough, and more than enough, for them and their posterity 
to the thousandth generation. The whole matter connected with their 
residence west was satisfactorily arranged by the commissioners in that 
country. 

1 cannot, myself, conceive that the prohibition to raise corn, if it could 
be legally given, and carried into effect, would be either a proper or a hu- 
mane remedy in this case. It is certainly better to remove them, as they 
must be removed eventually, than to let them remain and starve by our 
own act. 

Respectfully, &c. 

LEWIS CASS, 

Secretary of War. 

His Ex. John H. Eaton, 

Tallahassee, Florida. 



Attorney General's Office, 

March 26, 1835. 

Sir: In your letter of the 2lst instant, after enclosing to me a communi- 
cation of Governor Eaton, in which he suggests doubts concerning the vali- 
dity of the treaty with the Seminole Indians, concluded on the 9th of May, 
1832, and ratified on the 9th of April, 1834, inconsequence of the delay 
which took place in the ratification, you requested my opinion upon the 
validity of the treaty, and upon the right of the United States to remove 
these Indians in the years 1835, 1836, and 1837. 

There is certainly great force in the suggestions made by Governor Ea- 
ton ; and as the Government, in its relations and intercourse with the In- 
dians, is necessarily obliged to become, for all practical purposes, its own 
interpreter and judge, it is under the highest obligation to make no claim 
under the treaty, and to set up no construction of its terms, which are not 
fairly authorized by its sense and spirit. And if it can be shown that a 
material change of circumstances, connected with the question of removal, 
had actually occurred during the period which elapsed between the signing 
and ratifiation of the treaty, then it is plain that the Indians can no longer 
be held to it, unless, by some act since its ratification, they have recognised 
and affirmed its validity. In the present case, as no time was limited for 
the ratification of the treaty, as the supplemental articles of the 28th of 
March, 1833, treated it as yet in existence, although not then ratified by the 
President and Senate, and as no material change of circumstances is sug- 
gested, I think it must be deemed a valid and subsisting treaty. 

If the treaty be valid, the particular intent to remove in 1833, 1834, and 
1835, must yield to the general engagement to remove in three years from 
the ratification^ and the same provision must be made for the unforeseen 



174 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



case which has now arisen, which was expressly made for the ease actually 
anticipated. It was evidently the understanding and the design of the 
parties that the removal should commence with the year following the rati- 
fication, and the tribe should be removed in about equal proportions, during 
that and the two following years. Consequently they are now to be re- 
moved in the years 1835, 1836, and 1837. 
The papers are herewith returned. 

I have the honor to be, 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

B. F. BUTLER. 

To the Hon. Lev/is Cass, Secretary of War. 



War Department, March 27, 1835. 

Sir: Governor Eaton has transmitted to the Department the copy of a 
letter, which he has written to yon, on the subject of the removal of the Se- 
minole Indians from Florida. 

The doubts suggested by Governor Eaton in that letter, and in one ad- 
dressed by him to this Department, concerning the validity of the treaty 
ratified with the Seminoles, in April, 1834, in consequence of two of the 
years during which they were to remove, having expired, have been con- 
sidered by the President. On a full examination, however, of the subject, 
the obligation of the treaty does not seem to be affected by this circum- 
stance, as the postponement of the ratification was occasioned by a stipula- 
tion in the treaty, requiring an examination of the western country, and the 
subsequent assent of the Seminoles, before the treaty could take effect. The 
ratification was given as soon after it was effected as practicable. 

You will therefore proceed under your original instructions. If any de- 
lay, however, has occurred, in consequence of this interposition of Gover- 
nor Eaton, your conduct in postponing the subject will be entirely appoved. 

Let me, however, add, that in the execution of the task committed to you, 
I am very desirous that no harsh measures should be used which can possi- 
bly be avoided. It is only in the last resort, and under the conviction that 
the peace of that part of the country requires the immediate removal of these 
Indians, that the measures directed should be resorted to. 

Respectfully, 

LEWIS CASS, 

Secretary of War. 

Brevet Brig. Gen. D. L. Clinch, 

Fort King, Florida. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. April 1, 1835. 
Sir: By the 3d article of the Seminole treaty of 9th May, 1832, it is 
agreed to distribute among the Seminoles as they arrive west of the Missis- 
sippi, a blanket and home-spun frock to each individual of the tribe. I 
have issued proposals for blankets, but as it will be proper to furnish them 
with such frocks as they are accustomed to wear, it is preferred that you 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



175 



should procure them. You will for this purpose procure to be made of 
suitable materials, three or four frocks, each of a different size. These 
will be exhibited as specimens at New Orleans, in the papers of which 
place, you will advertise for proposals for delivering 1,500 of them there, 
on the 1st of October next. The specimen frocks should be made out of 
good homespun, and in workmanlike manner. They will be put in the 
office of the Assistant Quartermaster, who will exhibit them to persons 
disposed to bid. 

The bids will be received till the 1st of June, or about the time of your 
returning from Rock Row : and the contracts given to the lowest respon- 
sible bidder. The Assistant Quartermaste" may have them inspected, if 
you cannot be present, and will ship them to Fort Gibson. As soon as 
evidence of delivery and inspection is received at this office, the money 
will be paid. The original bids, and all other papers connected with the 
transaction, will also be forwarded. 

I enclose forms of advertisement, abstracts of bids and contract, with 
blank contracts and bonds. When the contract is made, you will please to 
forward an original, reserving another for yourself. 

Respectfully, (fee. 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. & 

General Wiley Thompson, 

Superintendent Seminole Removal, 

Seminole Agency, Florida. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. April 3, 1835. 

Sir: I have to-day given General Thompson special instructions on 
the subject of the cattle to be taken from the Seminoles, and appraised 
under the 5th article of the treaty. I refer you to the copy enclosed, for 
particulars. You will see that you are to take with you, west of the Mis- 
sissippi, the "statement" of the cattle received. This you will give to 
Captain Bunn, who will be directed by me to advertise for the delivery, in 
the new country, of as many head as may be required. In the meantime, 
the statement forwarded to this office from Florida, will enable me to 
transmit the funds as well to pay those Indians who are to receive cash, as 
to furnish cattle to those who prefer them. 

Respeclfullv, &c. 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. S. 

Lieut. Joskpii W. Harris, 

Disbursing Agent, Seminoles, 

Seminole A gene?/, Florida. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. April 3, 1835. 
Sir: The 5th article of the Seminole treaty stipulates, that the United 
States will take the cattle belonging to the Seminole Indians, at the valua- 
tion of some discreet person to be appointed by the President, and that the 
owners shall be paid in money or cattle after their arrival west. You will, 
therefore, .proceed to fulfil this stipulation in the following manner : 



176 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



The cattle of those who emigrate will be taken and valued at what may 
be considered the lair value in the part of the country where they are taken. 
They will be distinguished according to the statement enclosed, as cows, 
cows and calves, bulls, steers, heifers, &c. the number and price of each 
placed in the appropriate column. The choice of money or other cattle 
will also be indicated in like manner, as to which, let it be understood, there 
can be no change. 

This duty should be done with great care, and the agent to whom it is 
confided will be enjoined to use every means of arriving at a proper deci- 
sion in each case, and of convincing those concerned, that he is right ; he 
will also assure them that they shall receive cattle in every respect as 
good as those taken, and very shortly after they arrive in their new country. 

The cattle will all be branded U. S. and sold at public sale, notice hav- 
ing first been given as extensively as possible. The proceeds will be paid 
immediately to the disbursing agent, or to a person duly authorized by him 
to receive them. 

As soon as the business is closed, the statement will be forwarded to this 
office, and a copy kept by you. No certificates will be given to the Indians, 
but great accuracy will be required in the entry of the names of the owners. 

A copy of the statement will be taken west by Lieut. Harris, who will 
leave it with Captain Bunn. That officer will be instructed to advertise for 
proposals for furnishing the cattle required, to be delivered after he receives 
the approval of the statement from me. Lieut. Harris will be instructed to 
turn over to the agent west, a sufficient amount of funds to pay those pre- 
ferring money, who will receive the appraisement price. 

Assistant agent, Joel Yancy, is designated to carry into effect the fore- 
going instructions, to which you will add such as you may think proper 
for his Government, and not inconsistent with these. He will be considered, 
whilst in the actual prosecution of this duty, as performing service equiva- 
lent to travelling west with Indians, and will receive his necessary travel- 
ling expenses. 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. S. 

General Wiley Thompson. 

Superintendent Seminole Removal. 

Seminole Agency, Florida. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. April 4, 1835. 
Sir : Having completed your duties as disbursing agent to Western 
Choctaws, you are hereby assigned to the disbursing agency of the Semi- 
noles. You will report to Captain Brown, at Little Rock, who will, at the 
proper time, direct you to proceed to Rock Row, for the purpose of superin- 
tending the arrangements he may make there for the reception of the Se- 
minoleSj about to emigrate under the direction of Lieut. Harris. You will 
accompany that officer west, and when the Indians arrive in their new 
country, will take charge of them. Further instructions will be trans- 
mitted to you. 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEO. GIBSON, C, G. S. 

Lieut. S. W. Moore, 

Cherokee Agency, west of Ark. Territory. 



[ Dec. No. 271. ] 



177 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. April 5, 1835. 

Sir: The Seminole Indians will immediately be removed from Florida. 
T*he superintendent, General Wiley Thompson, is actively engaged in 
making preparations for the commencement of the removal, and the dis- 
bursing agent, Lieutenant J. W. Harris, is now on his way to Florida, and 
will reach the agency in a few days. I am under the impression that the 
number of emigrants will not exceed twelve or fifteen hundred, but as to 
this you will be more correctly informed by the superintendent, who is di- 
rected to give you information, at the earliest day, of the number; and 
who will, I do not doubt, keep you apprised of the progress of the removal. 

The Indians will cross the gulf to New Orleans, and thence up the 
Mississippi to Rock Row in steam-boats. From Rock Row to the new 
country they will travel by land, arrangements for which will be made by 
you. 1 .... \ - . ■ ■% 

At the proper time, and I believe you will find it advisable speedily, you 
will enter into conditional arrangements for both transportation and subsis- 
tence. As to the mode of engaging the former I refer you to the circular 
herewith,, page 6, and to the form of wagon-roll. You have already been 
apprised that Lieutenant S. W. Moore would be assigned to the subsistence 
of the Seminoles west. Instructions for that duty will soon be sent to him. 
Wm. Armstrong, Esq. has been directed to go tc Little Rock and co-operate 
with you in this business. A copy of his instructions is enclosed. He, will 
proceed to Rock Row accompanied by Lieutenant Moore. The latter may 
make any disbursements necessary before the arrival of Lieutenant Harris 
with the Indians, but you will take up his vouchers upon your own 
abstracts. 

" The Indians will, perhaps, be accompanied, as far as Rock Row, by 
other officers of the army besides Lieut. Harris. In this case they may be 
relieved at that point, if it can be done with safety. Lieut. Moore can take 
the place of one of them; and should another agent be wanted, Col. Rector 
can be employed. 

" If you had not heretofore been more than once disappointed in the re- 
sults of emigration, I should now direct you, without waiting to ascertain 
the number of Indians, to advertise for proposals, distinct from those for 
provisions to be issued during the removal, for the Seminoles after their 
arrival on the new lands. For this reason, I prefer you should advertise 
proposals for the supplies, both during and after the termination of the 
removal, together. The contracts may be divided, or the bills of the con- 
tracts may distinctly show when the supplies were delivered. The 
time of the contract may be " during the emigration of the Seminoles for 
Rock Row in 1835, and for one year after the day of their arrival on 
their lands west of the Arkansas Territory: 1 

Lieut. Harris will continue to conduct and disburse for the Seminoles 
until he tarns them over to their disbursing agent west, at the termination 
of their journey. 

All payments made by him for services of any description, engaged by Mr. 
Armstrong or yourself, will be paid for upon requisition signed accordingly. 
You will pay for subsistence and transportation furnished during the 
travel from Rock Row. The wagon abstract will have, in each case, on the 
margin, the statement of Lieut. Harris to the individual performances of 
the teams. 

12 



178 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



I will place to your credit in the Union bank of Louisiana, at New 
Orleans, five thousand dollars on Seminole account. 

The cattle of the Seminole Indians will be taken from them under ap- 
praisment, for which they will be paid in money or other cattle. I have 
directed Lieut. Harris to give you the " statement" of the cattle agent. As 
soon as you receive it, you will advertise for the number of head of the 
different, kind wanted, to be delivered in about sixty or ninety days. 
Every precaution must be taken to have them of good quality. As the 
superintendent will send me from Florida a copy of the statement, I shall 
be able to receive and examine it, and remit to you the requisite funds 
shortly after the appearance of your advertisement. As soon as you pub- 
lish it send me a copy. 

You will examine well the circular to which I have before alluded. It 
is full of important and instructive matter. The practical rules it contains 
will be strictly adhered to. It will be readily perceived that their obser- 
vance will effectually secure economy in the practical administration, whilst 
they are not inconsistent with the greatest degree of efficiency. 

GEORGE GIBSON. 

Capt. Jacob Brown, Pi in. Dis. Agent, 

Little Rock, Arkansas Territory. 



Port King, Florida Territory. 

April 6. 1835. 

Sir: I have the honor to report my arrival at this post, via Baltimore, 
Savannah, St. John's river, and Miconopy or Wantons. 
Respectfully, (fee. 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, 

Dis. Ag t Seminole Indians- 

Brig. Gen. George Gibson, 

Commissary General, fyc. 



Fort Brook. Tampa Bay, E. F. 

April 13, 1835. 

General : This will be handed you by Mr. Winslet, (Indian interpre- 
ter.) who has been on important services, in this quarter, for the Govern- 
ment. He arrived here on the 1st day of January last, with General 
Thompson, Indian agent, since which period he has been rendering his 
constant services to the Government in the most zealous and efficient man- 
ner ; and to which I must attribute very much, the prompt, and passive 
compliance of the Indians, in this quarter, to go and keep within their 
boundary line, as well as their general sobriety and good conduct, as re- 
peatedly represented to you in my past communications. He has certainly- 
contributed to direct the attention of the Indians, in this quarter, to the pro- 
priety and necessity of an observance of their treaty and good behavior. He 
has done much to check trade and intercourse between the whites and In- 
dians, (particularly in whiskey,) a circumstance which could not have re- 
sulted but from Mr. Winslet's vigilance, by being frequently out, (and for 
considerable periods and distances,) among the whites and Indians. These 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



179 



are among many services which Mr. Winslet has performed. Indeed such 
have been the friendly and devoted feeling and exertions manifested by him, 
in favor of the interest and measures of the Government, in relation to the 
removal of the Indians, by frequent talks with them, to induce them to 
yield in all respects a strict compliance with their treaty, that I have fre- 
quently concluded that his services and exertions, have been as important 
and beneficial, as they were properly regarded by General Thompson and 
yourself, as indispensable; and let me add that the services which have been 
necessarily required of him could not possibly have been performed without 
a horse ; the expense of which in keeping at this place, he says, and I have it 
from others, (one of whom keeping forage for sale,) that a horse cannot be 
properly kept, for frequent and hard riding, except at a great expense. Hay 
being three dollars per cwt. and corn one dollar and fifty cents per bushel. 
Altogether Mr. Winslet's services and conduct, as tar as they have fallen un- 
der my notice, seem to justify fully the reputation which he is said to have 
maintained by services heretofore rendered in important and trying times 
with the Indians : viz., that of being a friendly, zealous, and devoted servant 
of the Government in his capacity of interpreter and otherwise. As Mr. 
Winslet thinks himself entitled soon to some compensation for his services, 
and will mention the subject to you, I have thought it due to him, to urge 
with you the propriety and justice of his being as well and sufficiently com- 
pensated as possible. 

I am, general, 

Most respectfully, &c. yours, 

R. A. ZANTZINGER, 

Brevet Major 2d Art. 

Brigadier Gen. D. Clinch, 

Commanding U. S. troops in Florida. 



War Department^ April 14, 1835. 
Sir : I send for your information and government the copy of a letter 
this day addressed to General Clinch. 

Respectfully, &e. 

LEWIS CASS, 

Secretary of War. 

General Wiley Thompson, 

Supt. Sem. Rem. Fort Ring, Florida. 



War Department, April 14, 1835. 

Sir : Your letter of the 19th ultimo, to the Adjutant General, has been 
laid before me, and I have conversed with the President on the subjects 
therein referred to. 

Your views seem to me to be equally judicious and humane. Certainly 
there is not the slightest wish to oppress the unhappy Seminoles, who have 
stipulated for their own removal. But their continuance where they now are, 
For any length of time, is absolutely impossible; and the sooner they are 
satisfied of this fact, the better it will be for them. Still, however, I should 
much prefer a voluntary and peaceable removal, to one effected by force 



t 



180 [ Doc. No. 271. ] 

It weufd only be in the last resort that the Government would be wil- 
ling to compel them to comply with their own engagements. And it would 
be better to suffer a temporary inconvenience, if thereby their feelings could 
be quieted, than to require them to remove without their own consent. 
The matter, therefore, is referred entirely to your discretion, and to that of 
General' Thompson. If they should all be willing to go this year it will cer- 
tainly be better to remove them. But if they are opposed to this, and will ge- 
nerally agree quietly to remove by the first of March, or as soon thereafter 
as the necessary arrangements can be made, then they may be suffered to 
remain until that time. But in that case let a written agreement be drawn 
up stating the reason of the delay, their entire readiness to remove by that 
time, and to go in a body by such route as you and General Thompson may 
think best for them, and most economical to the Government ; and let this 
agreement be signed in open council by all their influential men. It is my 
decided opinion that they had better go by water : and every proper induce- 
ment should be held out to them to assent to that measure. Still, however, 
if their repugnance should prove invincible that point may be yielded to 
them. 

Should the Seminoles, however, peremptorily decline to pledge them- 
selves peaceably to remove next season, you will then proceed to carry into 
effect the instructions heretofore given. A copy of this communication 
will be addressed to General Thompson for his information. 

Respectfullv. ccc. 

LEWIS CASS, 
Secretary of War. 

Brevet Brig. Gen. D. L. Clinch. 

Commanding at Fort King. Florida. 



Fort King, Florida Territorv, 

April 15, 1S35. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge your circular of the 21st instant, 
accompanied by general order No. 14, relating to the construction of the 
proviso to the Harbor Bill, passed by Congress on the 3d March, 1835. 

My letters to you of the 9th, 10th. ancf 16th ultimo, contain my senti- 
ments as to the legality of detailing officers of the army for duty as dis- 
bursing agents, conductors, &c. in the removal of Indians without then- 
previous voluntary consent, and without an adequate compensation for 
their extra services and responsibilities. These sentiments remain un- 
changed ; and I enter, respectfully, but firmly, now. as I did then, and shall, 
upon all occasions, when 1 conceive my rights invaded, my protest against 
such details. 

>^ I have the honor herewith to cover my account current for the first 
quarter, with its necessary abstracts and vouchers. 

I regret that I am unable to give you any satisfactory information as yet, 
with regard to the removal of the Florida" Indians. Generals Thompson 
and Clinch, conforming their conduct to the pacific nature of their instruc- 
tions from the honorable Secretary of'TTar, have conceded to the chiefs 
their request that they might be allowed until the 20th instant: to assemble 
in general council at this place, when they promise to give their final de- 
cision. Until this council is over, we can do nothing. 



\ 



[ Dop. No. 271. ] 



181 



I have no hopes, myself, of effecting a voluntary removal of the Indians 
this season. And should the chiefs ask, in a proper manner, permission for 
their people to remain in this country until the coming winter, I shall advise 
that it be granted to them, upon their solemn pledge, that at that season, 
•and upon a fixed day, the whole body of the Florida Indians, shall begin 
their journey to the west. This should be accorded to them as a very 
great favor, and as another great proof of our forbearance and friendship. 
It promises a much happier result to undertake to remove the whole body 
of these Indians at once, and at that time, than to begin now to emigrate 
them by thirds. 

It will be the 24th instant, at least, before the decisions of the council are 
known; from the 5th to the 10th of May, before I can reach New Orleans; 
and as neither sub-agents have been appointed, nor means of transportation, 
&c.«is yet sought for in consequence of the uncertainty of every thing here, 
it will be at the shortest, and under the most favorable circumstances, the 
first of June before these people can be embarked at Tampa Bay. They 
will then be exposed upon the gulf to the waters of the Mississippi and 
White rivers, in the month of June, perhaps July, a season when, during 
the past year, both the malignant cholera and yellow fever raged in those 
regions. Should a portion of this third Ml victims to either of these dis- 
eases, we shall stand but a poor chance of removing the remaining two- 
thirds who are left behind. 

Should it be resolved to make the attempt by land, they will hardly get 
off before the first of July, and will then have about twelve hundred miles 
to march, over, for the most part, a bilious country. In this case they will 
reach their new homes, if ever, somewhere in the early part of November. 

By my returns, it will be seen, that at Baltimore, I purchased eight hun- 
dred bushels of corn ; and at Savannah, twenty-four and a half bushels of 
salt. In case of removing the Indians, it will be fortunate that I did so, if 
not, I think I can dispose of it without loss. The natives are much pressed 
for want of bread stuff. Should we come to terms, I shall propose to fur- 
nish the corn to the needy in part payment of their annuity, and account 
for the same reciprocally to your office and to the Indian Bureau. These 
provisions are at present securely stored at Black Creek, eighty miles from 
the agency. 

Com cost me at Baltimore sixty-seven cents per bushel. Salt at Sa- 
vannah about seventy-two cents per bushel : the former commands here at 
from one dollar fifty cents to two dollars : the latter two dollars, and difficult 
to be had upon these terms. 

I have the honor to be, &c. 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, 
Lieut. Dis. Agent of Florida Indians. 
Brig. Gen. Geo. Gibson, Com. Gen. fyc. 



Fort King, Florida, April 20, 18$5. 
Sir : On assuming the command of the troops in Florida, I was im- 
pressed with the importance of procuring men of firmness and integrity of 
character, to act as Indian interpreters at this post, and at Fort Brooke, who 
were well acquainted with both the English and Indian languages, and 
also firmly attached to the cause of emigration. From a long acquaint- 



82 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



ance with Mr. Winslet, who had acted with me in the Creek country 
eighteen years ago, together with the strongest recommendations in his favor 
by General Thompson and Captain Graham. I engaged him to perform The 
duties of Indian interpreter at Fort Brooke, and the enclosed letter from 
Major Zantzinger, the commanding officer at that post, will inform you of 
the important services rendered by Mr. Winslet in the capacity of inter- 
preter. -When the arrangement was entered into between Mr. Winslet and 
myself, I stated to him that I could not say what his compensation would 
be ; but that I would state his case lo the honorable Secretary of War, who, 
I had no doubt, would be willing to give a liberal compensation, provided 
his services entitled him to it. 1 feel confident that he has been zealous 
and active in the cause, and that he has rendered important services since 
his employment at Fort Brooke ; and I respectfully and strongly recom- 
mend his claims to the liberal consideration of the honorable Secretary of 
War. 

I remain, with high respect, 

Your most obedient servant, 

D. L. CLINCH. 

Brevet Brig. Gen. R. Jones, 

Adjutant General. Washington. D. C. 



Seminole Agency, April 27, 1835. 

Sir : Lieutenant J. W. Harris will enclose to you a copy of the joint 
report to the Secretary of War by General Clinch, Sir. Harris, and myself, 
relative to the emigration of the Seminole Indians. 

Should the course recommended, meet the approval of the Department, 
the report will indicate the necessity of correspondent changes in your in- 
structions to Mr. Harris and myself. 

If the Department approves the arrangement which is submitted, there 
will be no employment here for Colonel Yancey, who arrived at this place 
on the 19th instant, until November or December, as the Indians do not 
begin to gather their cattle the second time in the year, until about that pe- 
riod. During the intermediate time, it is to be expected that the obstinacy 
of the malcontent Indians will be made to yield. Until a large proportion 
of them do yield, it would be difficult, not to say impossible, for Colonel 
Yancey to accomplish the object of his appointment, as the refractory In- 
dians have not yet consented to surrender their cattle : and if an attempt 
were made to value the cattle of the friendly Indians under existing circum- 
stances, it might produce unpleasant and embarrassing collisions. Besides, 
the Indians will be compelled to use a considerable portion of their cattle 
for subsistence during the summer. 

Colonel Yancey desires to know whether he is to be allowed travelling 
expenses from his residence to this place? The regulations answers the 
question ; but he urges that a similar allowance has heretofore been made 
tp* others. 

For the purpose of reducing the refractory Indians to a sense of their 
dependence, and to withhold from them the means of doing mischief, I 
have prohibited the sale of arms, powder, and lead, to them. 

When active operations commence under your revised instructions 
(should a revisal of them become necessary), 1 shall need the aid of an 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



183 



•active man as assistant to the special agent^ to assist me " in the discharge 
of the more important duties connected with emigration." Allow me to 
express, very respectfully, a hope that the appointment will be given to 
an efficient man of sober, stead]/ habits. 

A total prohibition of the sale of powder and lead, to the refractory In- 
dians, will deprive them, to some extent, of their ordinary means of subsist- 
ence, unless, as has been reported, they have a considerable deposite of 
those articles. I submit to you whether the order shall be somewhat re- 
laxed, or whether rigidly enforced ? 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Gen. Geo. Gibson. Com. General. §*c. 



Seminole Agency, April 27, 1835. 

Sir : Application was made to me this morning for permission to purchase 
negroes of the Seminole Indians, under a letter from the office of Indian 
Affairs, addressed to General Call, in which the commissioner says, that as 
there is no law prohibiting the sale of slaves by Indians, there is no neces- 
sity for the interference of the Department to allow to the Indians a privilege 
which they already have. 

The intercourse laws prohibit the purchase of an Indian pony, by a mem- 
ber of civilized society, without permission from the agent; and why? but be- 
cause the Indian is considered in a state of pupilage, and incapable of protecting 
himself against the arts and wiles of civilized man. If the Indian's interest in 
a pony is of so much importance in the estimation of the Government, as to re- 
quire such strict guards to be thrown around it, the protection of his interest 
in his slave should be esteemed more important, by as much as the latter is 
more valuable than the former species of property. If, in the regulation of 
the sale of poneys, the United States exercise a rightful power, the obliga- 
tion on them to guard the interest of the Indian in his slave, is greatly more 
imposing. 

The negroes in the nation dread the idea of being transferred from their 
present state of ease and comparative liberty, to bondage and hard labor un- 
der overseers, on sugar and cotton plantations. They have always had a 
great influence over the Indians. They live in villages separate, and, in 
many cases, remote from their owners, and enjoying equal liberty with their 
owners, with the single exception, that the slave supplies his owner annually, 
from the product of his little field, with corn, in proportion to the amount 
of the crop ; in no instance, that has come to my knowledge, exceeding ten 
bushels ; the residue is considered the property of the slave. Many of these 
slaves have stocks of horses, cows and hogs, with which the Indian owner 
never assumes the right to intermeddle. I am thus particular on this point, 
that you may understand the true cause of the abhorrence of these negroes 
of even the idea of any change. And the indulgence so extended by the 
owner to the slave, will enable you to credit the assertion, that an Indian 
would almost as soon sell his child as his slave, except when under the in- 
fluence of intoxicating liquors. The almost affection of the Indian for his 
slave, the slaves fear of being placed in a worse condition, and the influence 
which the negroes have over the Indians, have all been made to subserve 



184 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



the views of the Government. Indians and negroes were assured, at the 
formation of the treaty at Payne's Landing, that their removal west would, 
more than any thing else, secure a continuance of their present relations ? 
and hence the stipulation contained in the sixth article of that treaty. I 
have uniformly told these people (Indians and negroes) that they will find 
their greatest security in a removal west ; and I have given them a pledge 
that I will do every thing in my power, consistent with the just rights of 
others, to save blacks from worse bondage, and to counteract the operations 
of interested intermeddlers. I have long since declared that I will not per- 
mit a sale of any slave, unless it be clearly dictated by humanity. This 
course, added to the indefatigable exertions which General Clinch and my- 
self have made, has secured the results which you have exhibited in the ac- 
companying report. 

To counteract my efforts, it is now whispered among the malcontent In- 
dians, that my object is to secure the negroes to myself or other white men, 
and the moment I am called upon to meet this new difficulty, a party of 
whites arrive at the agency, with what they consider a permission from the 
"War department, to purchase slaves from the Indians. Were this to be made 
known, the impression which is now sought to be made, that I design to get 
negroes into the hands of the whites, would be immediately matured into a 
fixed conviction, which would, 1 fear, entirely mar our prospects, as it is 
reasonable to suppose that the negroes would en masse unite with the mal- 
content Indians. Fortunately the application was first made to me. I ex- 
plained to the gentleman who made the application the danger to be appre- 
hended, should the object of their visit be made known, and forbid their saying 
any thing on the subject ; they promptly pledged themselves to be silent. 
I repeated to them the declaration, that nothing should induce me to permit 
or sanction the sale of any negro, unless it should be clearly dictated by 
humanity ; and to the above reasons I added that something is due to the ne- 
gro himself. His state is one of ease and comparative freedom, to secure a 
continuance of which, solemn pledges have been made to him, and I should 
feel that I was accessary to the enslaving a freeman, if I were to permit the 
sale of one or more of them, to favor the views of those who, for their own 
aggrandizement, may wish to purchase. 

I have thus been prolix in the development of the views and motives 
which have prompted my course, because, with the most respectful defer- 
ence to the Department, I should consider any other an abandonment of the 
principles of the treaty, and of humanity. 

If the substance of the letter to which I have referred, shall unfortunately 
become generally known, I fear that many will thence take license and 
rush into the nation, with a view to every variety of speculation. Should 
this happen, and be tolerated, God only knows what the consequences will 
be. Fearless of consequences, I will, to the extent of the means within my- 
control, restrain any and all persons from entering into the nation for such 
purposes, until I receive instructions from you upon the subject. . 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Hon. Lewis Cass. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



18$ 



Fort King, Florida Territory, 

April 29, 1835. 

Brig. Gen. George Gibson, 

Com. Gen. <fy*c. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge your letters of the 21st and 27th 
ultimo, as also of the 3d instant, together with papers accompanying the same. 
Your instructions, as conveyed therein, will be complied with. Enclosed 
herewith is also a copy of the joint report of Generals Clinch and Thomp- 
son, and, through the courtesy of those officers by which, since my arrival 
here, I have been invited to a seat at their councils, of myself, to the hon. 
Secretary of War, of recent proceedings relating to the removal of the Flo- 
rida Indians. 

From this it will appear that the officers and agents of Government have 
felt themselves called upon to defer any further attempt to remove these In- 
dians until the coming winter ; and that they deem it expedient, instead of 
one-third, to endeavor simultaneously to remove every Indian in Florida. 
The reasons for those decisions, as embodied in the report, will, 1 think,, 
prove satisfactory to you ; as also those for selecting from the middle to the 
close of January for the commencement of the voyage. In addition to the 
reasons given therein, we are more likely to meet with a favorable stage of 
water, either in the Arkansas or in White River, in February and in March, 
that in any other months. Should the waters of the former river be up when 
we reach them, I think it may be both practicable and prudent to land our 
charge upon some point of the Canadian, perhaps in the Seminole territory. 
This would save much time, trouble, and expense ; but should not be un- 
dertaken without the sanction of the western agents. 

My plan would be to engage steam-boats under obligations to transport 
the emigrants, water permitting, either to Rock Row, Little Rock, or some 
point on the Canadian river, within the Seminole territory, "to be de- 
cided by the special agent or myself hereafter." Changes, of course, to be 
regulated by the point of final debarkation. Upon our arrival at the mouth 
of the Arkansas river, our advices from Captain Brown would instruct us 
whether to proceed to Rock Row, or to ascend the Arkansas to Little Rock ; 
and upon our reaching the latter place, it would be time enough to decide 
whether it would be prudent to prosecute our journey upon the water. 
My previous advices to Captain Brown, as to the probable time of my reach- 
ing the mouth of the Arkansas river, would enable him to judge whether 
the waters would, at that time, favor our ascent to Little Rock. By the last 
mail I corresponded fully and freely with Captain Brown, asking his ad- 
vices on these and other questions connected with our removal, and pre- 
paring him for our failure to effect an emigration the present season. I 
shall continue to advise him as the business progresses. I shortly expect 
to receive, through General Thompson, the report of the collector at Tam- 
pa Bay, snowing the draught of water that may be " brought in" to various 
points upon the Bay. 

There is a small cape upon the Bay called Gadsden's point, from 20 to 30 
miles below Fort Brooke, which I understand is easily accessible by land, 
and to which, if my recollections serve me, in the spring of 1832 1 myself car- 
ried in from 11 to 13 feet of water. Should I, upon a' critical examination, 
find this point as desirable as I am sanguine to think I shall, brigs of a larger 
class, and ships of the smaller, may be employed with the greatest advan- 
tage, both as to economy and health, in the transportation of our Indians. 



186 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



The means of transportation across the Gulf should be obtained at New 
York. At the season we shall require them here, vessels are sailing in bal- 
last from that port to New Orleans in quest of freight, and would stop in 
at Tampa Bay and accomplish the service required at a much less rate, 
probably 50 per cent, than that for which vessels would leave their market 
at New Orleans, or Mobile, to make an express trip for the purpose. 

I would not advise furnishing a greater amount of transportation than 
will accommodate three thousand individuals. In my own opinion the census 
of the Florida Indians, if taken, would not much exceed that number, in- 
cluding negroes. It is generally thought to be about 5,000. Should a 
greater number than this be assembled, the surplus might be retained under 
a competent officer, the special agent or myself if necessary, until transports 
could return from the Balize. This should not detain the main body a day : 
the parties should be independent of each other. With regard to the pur- 
chase of subsistence, I shall solicit advices from the assistant commissary 
of subsistence, New York and New Orleans, respectively. 

My further plan would be to proceed to New York, in the month of 
October, and from thence to New Orleans, to advertise for bids.- and to close 
my contracts for vessels at the former, and for steam at the latter place. The 
business 1 of course wish to superintend in person, and to be distinctly 
understood by my contractors. At this time, too, I can make choice of 
markets for the purchase of subsistence. 

The suggestion of " disembarking the Indians at some point below New 
Orleans, and of engaging steam-boats after my arrival in the Mississippi 
river," I would respectfully recommend should be abandoned : first, be- 
cause there is no point in the neighborhood of New Orleans, where the 
disembarkment could be effected, under other than circumstances highly 
unfavorable ; and secondly, to engage steam-boats after our arrival, would 
consume too much time, during which we should be daily adding so much 
to our expenses of subsistence and contingencies, and to the expense of the 
health of our company. On the contrary, I would prefer engaging my steam- 
boats to meet me at any time between the 1st and the 20th of February, at the 
Balize, upon a notice of three days. This notice I would be able to for- 
ward in season, after we begin to collect the Indians, and I should, in my 
calculation of time require to cross the gulf, assume the average voyage. 
The transportation 1 hope to employ will be of too heavy draught to enter 
Lake Ponchartrain, and even if not, I think it would be preferable to take 
steam at the Balize, where the steam-boats would drop along side of the 
transports, and an exchange of freight, &c. would at once take place, to 
undergoing the additional delays and expenses of 1st, disembarkation: 2d, 
loading of canal boats or rail-road cars ; 3d, transportation to the city (4 
miles); 4th, drayage to the steam-boats ; and 5th, reshipment. 

After accomplishing my business at New Orleans, I should return by 
post, direct to this place, where I would be able to arrive in season to super- 
intend the duties of my department in collecting the Indians. 

In your letter of instructions to the special agent, I observe you have 
directed that the poneys bolonging to the Indians, shall be sent by land to 
the new country, and in the copy, covered to me. of your communication 
to said officer of the 3d inst. relating to the appraisement of cattle, it would 
appear doubtful whether under that term you embrace hogs. To the lat- 
ter I thought it my duty to call your attention, although I do not doubt 
your intention that these animals shall be appraised and disposed of 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



187 



together with the cows, cows and calves, &c. otherwise, what satisfac- 
tory or equitable disposition can be made of them. As to the arrangement 
-of the poneys, proposed by you, justice to the Indians requires that it should 
be objected to. It is extremely doubtful how many of these beasts, under 
the guidance of a man who has no personal interest in them, and of a re- 
sponsibility, that can be hired at $2 per day, with Indians only to assist him, 
through such a country, and in a journey of twelve hundred miles, 
would ever reach their point of destination. Probably very few, and those 
so broken down as to be of little value. The loss would be occasioned by 
the stealth, fatigue, diseases, and accidents, consequent upon so long a 
journey, through so wild and broken a region, whose sparse population 
is composed of the most lawless ingredients. 

I would respectfully recommend that the Indians should be required to 
pack all their poneys into Tampa Bay, which should be the point of assem- 
blage. This will save the employment of a number of baggage wagons. 
Then the poneys should be turned over to the appraising officer, and 
together with the surplus cows and calves, hogs, &c. over and above what 
we shall require for subsistence in assembling, should, after having been 
duly valued, be driven under the charge of an officer of the army, the ap- 
praising officer, and suitable drivers to Tallahassee, where upon, ample pre- 
vious notice, they should be disposed of at public sale. 

I would also u rge upon the Department the propriety of our being left in the 
uninterrupted selection of our sub-agents; respectfully suggesting that we who 
are upon the spot, and who personally observe the obstacles with which we 
are opposed, are not better judges of the material required for our aid than 
those who are absent. This assistance as far as practicable should be select- 
ed from the army ; and 1 would request that Gen. Clinch be ordered to 
answer the requisitions of the special a^ent upon him for conductors, &c. 
to the extent that officers and non-commissioned officers can be spared. 
The special agent requires an efficient assistant special agent, and for the 
reasons above given, I think he should be authorized forthwith to appoint 
one. His duties are arduous and must continue so to be until the Indians 
are removed. The state of things here is such as to require his constant 
vigilance to counteract the effect of the influences of designing men ; and 
the Indians and the negroes require much looking to. 

We have now fixed upon a definitive time for the simultaneous removal 
of all the Indians of Florida. We have told these people why, in friend- 
ship to themselves, we have not removed them this spring. It is too late 
to parley with them further. Promptness and energy are required from- 
all quarters. Of you we ask that which has already been written^ and 
that our final instructions, and our last orders, may be forwarded to us as 
speedily as practicable. 

General Clinch should be required to report whether he has sufficient 
force to co-operate with effect, in case it should become necessary to resort 
to violent means m collecting these Indians; and, if he has not, it should be 
granted to him; and this reinforcement should be here in November. 

As the season approaches, runners will be despatched through the na- 
tion to warn all good Indians to assemble, of their own accord, at Tampa 
Bay, on the 1st January. A few days should be allowed for the well dis- 
posed to come in, and we should give ourselves the remainder of the month 
for collecting the obstinate, and these should be brought in gently, if practi- 
ce : tied, and at the 'point of the bayonet, if necessary. On the first of 
February, at the farthest, we should commence our voyage. 



188 [ Doc. No. 271. ] 

In assembling the Indians, I shall propose to establish a depot of rations 
at this place, and another about 40 miles below, between this and the point 
of assemblage. At these the several parties of emigrants can, under their 
respective chiefs, receive provisions sufficient to subsist them to Tampa 
Bay. 

It will be seen by the report enclosed, that it is recommended to provi- 
sion these starving Indians, at least partially so, for a few weeks ; and that 
it is advised to distribute the corn I report on hand, amongst them. In a 
former communication, I recommended it should be given in part pay of 
their annuity. I think it would be better if possible to give it to them. 

In my answer to the letter from the Indian commissioner, requiring me 
to pay the annuity, (fee. I protested as usual to the principle, and consented 
to do the duty. I do not know that it will interfere with my other calls. 
If it should, I shall avail myself of the authority granted in yours of the 
21st ultimo. 

I have as yet received no advices from the 2d Auditor of funds deposited 
at Tallahassee. Agreeably to your letter of instructions, there should be 
$5,000, in deposite there to my credit, over and above the Indian annuity. &c. 

I am authorized to say, the special agent concurs in the sentiments and 
suggestions of this letter. 

I have the honor to be, &c. 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, 
Lt. Disb. Agent, Florida Indians. 



Fort King, Florida, April 24, 1835. 
To the Hon. Lewis Cass, Sec. of War : 

Sir : In compliance with the instructions which we have received, from 
tune to time, relating to the removal of the Florida Indians, we have, under 
the pacific policy so strongly enjoined by yourself, exercised our capacities 
to the best of our abilities, and we have now the honor to submit to you the 
following report : 

About the time the President's talk to the chiefs and warriors of the 
Seminole nation was received, a council of some one hundred and fifty of 
the principal of those chiefs and warriors had assembled, by a previous un- 
derstanding, at this place, to consult with the agents of Government on 
matters touching their national welfare. The opportunity was considered 
favorable to the reading of the talk, and it was read. The chiefs and war- 
riors assembled listened to it attentively, and the effect produced was 
evidently favorable to our wishes. 

Jumper, upon this occasion, expressed the sentiments of the chiefs, de- 
claring that they had listened attentively to the talk: but that upon so 
important a question, and when they saw so large a body of their people 
unrepresented in the council, they could not assume the responsibility to 
decide. He asked for thirty days to bring together a fair representation 
of the whole nation. This council was on the 29th ultimo. Until the 
20th of April was granted to him to summon a general council of the 
chiefs of his nation. 

Owing to the absence of several chiefs whose presence was desirable^ 
this council did not convene until the 22d instant. Several hundred of the 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



189 



Seminoles were then present, composed of the chiefs and principal war- 
riors of the nation. 

The council was opened by the special agent, who explained to the In- 
dians the friendly nature of our relations with them up to the present time; 
its disposition to promote their good; and his own hopes that they had 
now assembled to fulfil their promises and to act like honest men. The 
treaty of April, 1832, was then read to them, and fully explained, and they 
were bade to listen to the last talk that their great father, the President, 
would make to them on this side of the waters of the Mississippi. The 
talk having been read, they were told that we were ready to hear their 
decision. 

Jumper was again the speaker of his nation. He expressed sentiments 
opposed to the treaty and to a removal from -their present homes ; yet sen- 
timents, solicitous of our friendship, and averse to a hostile resistance should 
we employ force to oblige them to go. He was followed by others who 
spoke as he did; and the day was wasting in unmeaning talk and idle ob- 
jections, when General Clinch briefly and firmly declared to the chiefs 
assembled that "the time of expostulation had passed; that already too 
much had been said, and nothing had been done ; that the influence of the 
agents of Government, their powers of persuasion and of argument had 
been exhausted, both in public councils and in private interviews, to induce 
them to do right ; that we had lingered long enough in the performance of 
our duties to have averted, had they been willing, the evils which threat- 
ened their foolish resistance to the fulfilment of pledges solemnly and fairly 
made by them, and that now it was time to act. He had been sent here to 
enforce the treaty ; he had warriors enough to do it, and he would do it. 
It was the question now whether they would go of their own accord, or go 
by force ? With this they were told they might depart, and until the 
morning was given to them, to think upon what had been said. 

On the morrow, the 23d instant, they were called upon to give their 
final ans wer, Micoanopa. the head chief was absent, on the plea of sick- 
ness, but evidently through a shuffling disposition to shun responsibility. 
In the course of the morning eight 'principal chiefs gave in their assent 
to abide by the stipulations of the treaty) five remained opposed to it. 

The special agent, General Thompson, had, upon the first intimation in 
the council of this day, of further resistance on the part of chiefs, demanded 
of the chief Jumper, " whether Micoanopa," by whom he knew the move- 
ments of a number of them to be controlled, "intended to abide by the 
treaty or not?" And when Jumper finally confessed that he was authorized 
to say that Micoanopa did ?iot, he promptly declared that " he no longer 
consider d Micoanopa as chief ; that his name should be struck from the 
Council of the nation ; that he should treat all who acted like him in the 
like manner, and that he would neither acknowledge nor do business with 
him. or .with any others as a chief, who did not honestly comply with the 
terms of his engagements ; that the door was, however, still open to them 
if they wished to act honestly. In consequence of this the names of the 
five oppo sing chiefs* were struck from the council of the nation. And to 
this decision on the part of General Thompson, we attach important and 
highly favorable results ; and do fully concur with him in deeming the 
measure both expedient and called for by the occasion. 

The friendly chiefs, however, whilst consenting to go to their new coun- 
try, begged that they might not be hurried away ; u they did not expect to 



190 [ Doc. No. 271. J 

have gone this year ; the season was far advanced; and they wanted time 
to make and gather in their corn, and to settle all their little business." 

The lateness of the season was an objection to the removal that had se- 
riously presented itself to our judgments, and we had given it mature con- 
sideration. Our conclusions were that it was a vital objection ; and that 
we were called upon by humanity, by the interests of the unfortunate 
people, and by the best interests of the service in which we are engaged,, 
to desist from any attempt to remove them until the coming winter. Should 
the trial be made, we could not under our present great disadvantages ex- 
pect to embark the "one-third of the Seminoles" ordered to be first removed, 
(or even one-third of the whole nation, pick them up where we could,) un- 
til the middle, perhaps the last of June. We would then have midsummer 
to accomplish their voyage in ; and all the dangers of malignant choler 
and the various summer diseases of the southern and western waters to en- 
counter. Under such auspices we had every reason to apprehend a fatal 
result to our enterprise ; and from such a result we have every reason' to 
dread the most deplorable effects upon the after interests of the removal. 
In addition to this we would have robbed this one-third of their present 
year's crop. We would neither have given them an opportunity to have 
reaped what they have planted here, or to have reached their new country 
in season to sow and reap. To have made the trial by land would have 
been even more objectionable ; besides, your orders condemning that 
mode of removal had been received by the last mail. 

Under these considerations we deemed it our duty to say to the friendly 
chiefs, that " we would give their people until the 1st of December next to 
reap their corn and to complete their preparations ; but that as soon after 
that time as we could make ourselves ready, every Indian in Florida 
would be started upon his journey to the new country ;" and we strongly 
urge upon your consideration the policy of this decision ; and that the In- 
dians of Florida be removed in a body. Should misfortunes then unhap- 
pily befal the expedition, we will at least have nothing to dread from its 
blighting effects upon future emigration. We would recommend from 
the 15th to the last of January as the most fitting season to embark the. 
emigrants at Tampa Bay. They would then reach their new homes in all 
probability from the middle to the last of March, thereby avoiding the win- 
ter of a more northern latitude, and securing to themselves all the advan- 
tages of spring. 

These people are exceedingly desirous that they should be distinct and 
separate from the Creeks ; should have their own agent, and their own- 
blacksmith. In this, in addition to the reasons which would naturally 
prompt them to such a request, they have one in which their rights and 
interests are likely to be immediately involved, and perhaps sacrificed. 
The Creeks have for some time made claim to certain negro property in 
this nation, the justness of which the Seminoles deny; and the latter are 
apprehensive that when they and the Creeks become associated, their rights 
must yield to the stronger party. 

The last season was one of great drought in the Seminole country, and 
there is a great consequent scarcity of corn ; and the severity of the win- 
ter has been the destruction of many of their cattle. Owing to this there 
is a proportionate suffering amongst the Indians for want of provisions. 
Their situation is truly distressing, and feelingly calls for relief. They ask 
through us that relief of our Government, and that " they may receive 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



191 



bread for a few weeks !" And we earnestly and respectfully recommend 
both this and their previous petition to your favorable consideration. 

There are eight hundred bushels of corn now in the hands of the dis- 
bursing agent, purchased in anticipation of the removal of a portion of 
these Indians this season ; and which will not be disposed of until we can 
learn the pleasure of the Department ; and this corn would do much" to 
allay the pressing cravings of the starving Seminoles. 

Should our proceedings as above reported meet with the approbation of 
the Department, as we honestly hope they will, an early sanction of them 
will enable us to carry into operation our plans for the ensuing winter with 
the greater effect. 

With every consideration of respect, 

We have the honor to be, sir, 

Your most obedient servants, 

WILEY THOMPSON, 

Sup. Rem. Sem. Indians. 
JOSEPH W. HARRIS, 

Lt. Dis. Agent Indians. 
D. L. CLINCH, 

Brev. Brig. Gen. U. S. A. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub., May 8, 1835. 
Sir: There will be shipped immediately from New York, seventeen 
bales of blankets, to care of Lieutenant A. Drane, Assistant Quartermas- 
ter, at New Orleans, which he will have transported to you without delay. 
They are intended for the Seminoles about to emigrate from Florida. You 
will pay the freight from New Orleans, and have the bales carefully ex- 
amined and stored. The expenses incident to them will be charged to 
Seminole account. 

Instructions for the distribution of the blankets will speedily be sent to 
you. A copy of the invoice is enclosed 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEORGE GIBSON. C. G. S. 

Lieut. S. W. Moore, 

Disbursing Agent Seminoles, 

Care of Capt. J. Bunn, 

Pr. Dis. A. I. R, Little Rock, A. T. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub., May 9, 1835. 
Sir : I have received yours of the 15th April, covering your accounts 
for the first quarter, 1835. The purchase of corn and salt is approved. 
Your advice of the results of the council of the 20th April, is waited fof 
with much anxiety. 

Blank forms of accounts and sent to you. 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEORGE GIBSON, C. G. S. 

Lieut. Joseph W. Harris, 

Dis. Agent, Florida Indians, Fort King, Florida 



192 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



War Department, 

May 20, 1835. 

Gentlemen : Your report of the 24th ultimo, detailing your proceedings 
with the Seminoles assembled in general council, has been received and 
submitted to the President ; and he has instructed me to communicate to 
you his views upon the several subjects embraced in it. 

Prom your report, it appears that eight of the principal chiefs have signi- 
fied in writing their determination to abide by all the stipulations of the 
treaties of Payne's Landing, and Fort Gibson, and that five of the princi- 
pal chiefs refused to acknowledge them. The assent of the chiefs is to be 
attributed, it would seem, to the declaration of General Clinch, that if they 
declined to remove voluntarily, they would be removed by force. The Presi- 
dent approves of the declaration, upon a full consideration of the circum- 
stances under which it was made. The Seminoles bad trifled sufficiently 
long with the most solemn treaty obligations, to which they had in the first 
instance acceded, with a full understanding of their character; and the 
consequences of which they had had, during three years, full opportunity 
to perceive and appreciate. It is apparent, from your report, that further 
argument and persuasion would have been fruitless. The Government 
was, therefore, bound to give effect to the treaty of 1832, to secure the well 
being of the Indians, and the prosperity of the Territory from which they 
had agreed to emigrate. 

The deposing of the five chiefs by General Thompson is a measure of 
more questionable character. Such a proceeding has hitherto been un- 
known in our intercourse with the Indians, and>|s an interference in their 
internal concerns, of which neither party has recognised the right. Its im- 
mediate effect, by overawing the Indians, may be, seemingly, beneficial ; but 
it is to be apprehended that the reaction will be injurious. 

The influence of the chiefs is hereditary, or has been acquired in the 
field, or in the council ; and it is not easily broken. They will be excited 
by this act, intended as a disgrace and punishment, to oppose more rigor- 
ously the project of emigration. And they will have little difficulty in 
finding instruments and means for this purpose, in the comparatively 
wealthy negroes mingled with them, and in the facilities for concealment 
which the extent and character of the country afford. It is the opinion of 
the President, therefore, that the question of deposing these chiefs should 
be submitted to the chiefs, or to the Indians assembled in council, and, if 
confirmed by a majority of either of them, the vacancies should be filled by 
an election. This is in conformity with the usual course of proceediag 
among the tribes, and will obviate the evil result to be apprehended from 
the course that has been pursued. The deposition will then be the act of 
the nation, or of its constituted authorities, and not of an agent of the Go- 
vernment 

The reasons for delaying the removal, which you have stated, justify that 
measure. That such delay might be necessary was contemplated by the 
Department, as you will perceive by the letter to General Clinch of the 
14th April. If, as stated in that letter, the Indians will generally agree quietly 
to remove by the time you have designated, and will signify their agreement 
in writing, in the manner therein pointed out, no objection will be made to 
the postponement. But the Indians must understand that their removal 
will then be enforced in conformity with the treaty. 

It is considered unnecessary to maintain a separate agency for the Semi- 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



193 



noles west of the Mississippi. They will be located in the section of the 
Creek country assigned to them by the commissioners in Arkansas J and 
placed under the same agent. If he fails to protect their property from the en- 
croachments of the Creeks, Major Armstrong, the acting superintendent of 
the western territory, will apply the appropriate remedy. The smith's 
establishment, provided for the Seminoles by treaty will, of course, be con- 
tinued. 

The Commissary General of Subsistence will give instructions for dis- 
tributing the eight hundred bushels of corn, now on hand to the Indians. 

Respectfully. &c, 

C. A. HARRIS, 
Acting Secretary of War. 
Gen ; ls Thompson and Clinch, and Lieut. J. W. Harris. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. May 23, 1835. 

Sir : Your communication of the 29th April, enclosing the joint report 
of Generals Clinch and Thompson and yourself, to the Secretary of War, 
on the subject of the removal of the Seminole Indians, is received. The 
acting Secretary of War has, under the direction of the President, acted 
upon the report , and it will be seen mainly assented to what has been per- 
formed and recommended. The operation of the emigration will be sus- 
pended till January next. In the meantime the agents will, it is hoped, so 
far understand the intentions of the Indians, as to undertake the task of 
removal with a great degree of certainty with regard to the consequences. 

The variou., propositions contained in your report shall be duly con- 
sidered ; and as they involve nothing that needs immediate action, no 
decision will be made upon them until the return of the Secretary of War. 

The President has decided, in answer to the petition of the Indians, that 
they may receive bread for a few weeks, that the eight hundred bushels of 
corn in your hands be issued to them. Although this is not contemplated 
by the regulations and instructions, there must be some rule in making the 
issue. You wilt, therefore, keep a regular account of the time of issuing, 
the number of persons, &c. entering the whole on'an -abstract and provi- 
sion return, certified by the superintendent. These things, it will be seen, 
may tend to give a superior degree of authenticity to the transaction. 

The advice, of the five thousand dollars deposited in the bank of Talla- 
hassee, was sent to you by the Second Auditor, addressed to that place. 
He will transmit you a duplicate. 

Respectfully, &c 

J. H. HOOK, U. S.-A. 
Act. Corn. Subsistence. 

Lieutenant Joseph W. Harris, 

Disbursing Agent , Florida Indians, Fort King : Florida. 



13 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. May 26, 1835. 

Sir : Your letter of the 27th ultimo is at hand. The copy of the re- 
port alluded to has been received from Lieutenant Harris. The War 
Department has apprised you of the determination of the President as to 
the several matters treated of. It is decided that the removal of Indians 
may be deferred till the time proposed, January, 1836. prior to which time 
this office will take into consideration all the circumstances that have, a 
bearing upon the subject, with a view to such modification of the instruc- 
tions as may be requisite. 

You remark in relation to the postponement of the removal, that if the 
arrangement is approved, there will be no employment for Colonel Yan- 
cey till November or December. It is decided by the President, to whom 
your letter has been submitted, that it would be inexpedient to send Colonel 
Yancey home after the reception of this letter, with the view to the recall- 
ing him in the fall ; because the expenses of the travel, all which he has to 
defray, would be inordinate, compared with his income. Besides, the Pre- 
sident believes, as he has been ordered to Florida, he should be retained a 
reasonable time : and that some duty or other may possibly be found for 
him to perform, prior to the commencement of active operations. 

The proposition to appoint an efficient man, of sober habits, as an assist- 
ant to the special agent, &c. will receive the attention it merits. It shall 
be submitted to the Secretary of War, after his return to this city, and I 
doubt not will meet his approbation. 

The acting Secretary of War has deemed it proper, also, to submit to 
the President the fact, stated by you, of having prohibited the sale of arms 
and powder and lead, " for the purpose of reducing the refractory Indians 
to a sense of their dependance. and to withhold from them the means of 
doing mischief." 

The President is of opinion, that this prohibition will not produce any 
good, and may be a source of additional irritation. The Indians, he thinks, 
will get arms and ammunition at all events. He directs, therefore, that 
your regulation be repealed. 

Respectfully, Sec. 

X H. HOOK, U. & A. 

Act'g Comrriy. , Sub. 

General Wiley Thompson, 

Supt. Removal Seminoles. Fort King. Florida. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. May 27, 1835. 
Sir : Your letter of the 2d instant is received. The reason for which 
you have not advertised for contracts "to supply the Seminoles on their way 
"westward, are entirely satisfactory in themselves ; but more particularly so, 
in consequence of information recently received at this office, that those 
Indians desire to remain till next winter, when it is expected that they will 
all, or nearly all, remove. The indulgence has been granted them by the 
direction of the President. You have been, doubtless, apprised by Lieu- 
tenant Harris of the wishes of those Indians and of the agents of the Go- 
Terment among them, and you may, therefore, look upon it as settled, that 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



J95 



no removal will take place this season. January next is the appointed time. 
You will, therefore, withdraw your advertisement for proposals to furnish 
the year's subsistence to the Seminoles. 

Allusion is made by you to indiscreet publications in a Memphis paper, 
as the source of great loss to the contractors, for supplying the emigrant 
Creeks of last season. It is gratifying to learn that those who suffered 
from the deception, are satisfied with your course. It is hoped that no 
agency in the publications has been traced to any one then having a con- 
nection with the emigration of the Indians. The concessions which you 
have made to those disappointed contractors, meet, therefore, with approval, 
and, it is believed, are fortified by considerations of good policy as well as 
liberality. But, as the Seminoles will not remove until next January, 
would it be expected by the individuals alluded to, that their privilege 
should be extended beyond the time specified, in which they are allowed 
to furnish Indian supplies, so as to embrace those Indians. As this privi- 
lege embraces all emigrants, who may remove, to the 30th September next, 
it may possibly enable them to supply the Creeks, who, it is expected, will 
go over in considerable bodies by that time. In this case the expediency 
may be doubted of any extension of the time, but if any is given, it should 
not go beyond December. In all this, it will be well to have the transac- 
tion authentically made, and properly understood, so that no difficulty may 
hereafter arise. 

As it is the determination of the Department to economise to the utmost 
extent, consistent with expediency, it will be proper to reduce every ex- 
penditure growing. out of the anticipated removal of the Seminoles, and if 
any agents or others have been employed by you, they will be discharged 
or suspended. 

JAMES H. HOOK. 

Captain Jacob Brown, 

Principal Disbursing Agent, Little Rock, A. T. 



Little Rock, A. T., June % 1835. 
Sir : I am just in receipt of a communication from Lieut. J. W. Harris, 
disbursing agent for the removal of the Seminole Indians, informing me 
that those Indians would not be removed this year. In consequence of this 
information special agent Armstrong has left for Nashville. No arrange- 
ments have been made in anticipation of this movement, that will, in any 
manner, involve the Government in consequence of this failure. 

Lieut. Moore, who was some time since ordered to this place, has not yet 
reported. He informs me that he has -applied to be relieved ; and as the 
Seminoles will not emigrate the present season, the detail of an officer for 
that purpose is not now necessary. I can at any time relieve him of his 
disbursing duties on account of Indian annuities. 

I have the honor to be, 
Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

J. BROWN, Capt. U.S. Army, 
* Disbursing Agent, Indian Removal. 

General George Gibson, 

Com. Gen. Sub. Washington, D. C. 



196 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



Little Rock, Arkansas Territory, 

June 3, 1835. 

Sir: I cover herewith abstract of bids received for supplying the Semi 
nole Indians in their new country with subsistence up to the 31st Decem- 
ber, 1836. 

Although it is believed there will not be any emigration the present year, 
yet I deemed it best to close the contract, in as much as an early emigration 
next year may be looked for, and as the offer to supply is as low as it is pos- 
sible lor any one, at any future time, to furnish subsistence in that country. 

The securities for the contract reside at a distance from this place, and 
to whom the bonds have been forwarded for signature ; so soorf as signed 
and returned one of the contracts will be covered to your office. 

Yery respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

J. BROWN, Capt. U. S. Army. 
Dis. Agent Indian Removal. 

Gen. George Gibson, 

Com. Gen. of Sub. Washington, D. C. 

P. S. 1 would here remark that the competition would have been much 
greater, had the party of Seminoles reached this section of the country as 
was intimated that they probably would do, in the published notice for pro- 
posals.- J. B. 



Fort King, Florida, 

June 3, 1835. 

Sir : I have the honor to report to you that under cover with your letter 
of the 17th March last, I was advised per letter of instructions dated 28th 
February, that the sum of thirty thousand dollars (§30,000) would be 
ordered to my credit at the several banks of New York, New Orleans, and 
Tallahassee. That on the IWi March ultimo, I was advised by the Second 
Auditor that ten thousand, dollars ($10,000) had been directed to be depos- 
ited at the Union Bank at New Orleans, subject to my order; and that on 
the t6M of May, 1835, my first draft on said bank, dated 24ih April, 1835, 
and fcr the amount of three hundred and eighty dollars and eighty cents, 
( 8380 SO) was -protested for nonpayment, after having been regularly pre- 
sented and rejected by the cashier* Will the Department ask of the Trea- 
sury an explanation of this? 

It is die first time I ever had a draft protested, and it is highly mortifying 
to my feelings to think that I have been subjected to the indignity now ; 
and that my name has been hawked about the streets of Mobile and New 
Orleans affixed to a dishonored paper. 1 

I need not point out to one of your experience, sir, the inconveniences 
that are likely to accrue to service from such awkward embarrassments. 
To prevent a repetition of them, as far as I am concerned, I have the honor 
to report to you that I have this day apprised the Treasurer of the United 
States that "I shall acknowledge accountability for no moneys whatsoever 
that may hereafter be appropriated to be disbursed by me, until I have been 
first advised of their safe deposite by the cashiers of the deposite banks 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



197 



themselves, and that credit has been given to me for the amount upon the 
books of the bank. " 

This protest was received on the night of the 1st instant. By the morn- 
ing's mail, the first since receipt, I shall cover the Second Auditor's letter of 
the 19th March, to the cashier of the Union Bank, and shall politely request 
him to apprise the cashier of the Branch Bank, State of Alabama, at Mobile, 
(by whom it seems my check was first presented and by him promptly 
forwarded,) upon what authority I drew the draft. 

With very great respect, &c. 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, Lieut 
Dis. Agents Florida Indians. 

Brig. Gen. George Gibson, 

Commissary General, fyc. 



Fort King, Florida, Jane 3, 1835. 
Sir: As after the receipt of your answers to my previous letters, your 
instructions with regard to the disposal of corn on hand, &c. there Mil be 
no call for any further services here until the fall of the year; I would solicit 
from you permission, for my health's sake, to pass a month or two at the 
medical springs of Virginia. From thence, if my suggestions are approved. 
I can proceed to New York and JNew Orleans, to secure sea and river trans- 
portation supplies, &c. previous to my return here. My departure, of 
course, subject to the veto of the special agent. 

I have the honor to be, &c. 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, Lieut. 

Dis. Agent Florida Indians. 

Brig. Gen. George Gibson, 

Commissary General, cj'c. 



Seminole Agency, June 3. 1835. 
Sir : A few days ago, Powell, one of the most bold, daring and intrepid 
chiefs in this nation, and one that lias been more hostile to emigration, and 
has thrown more embarrassments in my way than any other, came to my 
office and insulted me by some insolent remarks. He had done so before, 
and I then apprised him of the consequences, should he venture to do so 
again. He apologized, and I forgave. On this occasion I confined him in 
irons, as I was fully satisfied the crisis had arrived when it became indis- 
pensable to make, an example of him. On the next day after he was arrested, 
he sent to me a proposition to sign the acknowledgment of the validity of 
the treaty, and begged that I would release him. I informed him that, 
without satisfactory security that he would behave better and prove faith- 
ful in future, he must remain in confinement. He sent for some of the 
Jriendly chiefs and begged them to intercede for him ; they did so, I then 
informed him that f would put his sincerity to the test by releasing him. 
and relying on his word to come in live days, meet those friendly chiefs, 
and in council subscribe to the acknowledgment of the treaty. He replied 
that he would not only do it himself, but that he would bring others with 
im ; for that having been brought to proper reflection, he was perfectly 



198 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



satisfied that the course which he had been pursuing was well calculated 
to ruin him and his people. True to his professions he this day appeared 
with seventy-nine of his people, men, women, and children, including 
some who joined since his conversion, and redeemed his promise. He told 
me that many of his friends were out hunting, whom he could and would 
bring over, on their return. , I now have no doubt of his sincerity, and as 
little that the greatest difficulty is surmounted. 

Yery respectfully, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Gen. Geo. Gibson. 



Seminole Agency, June 3, 1835. 

Sir : I have deferred any action on your instructions of the 1st ultimo, 
until the Department shall decide upon the recommendation made by Gen. 
Clinch, Lieut. Harris, and myself, as the decision may make a change of 
those instructions necessary. 

By the 3d article of the treaty of Payne's Landing, " the United States 
agree to distribute, as they arrive at their new homes in the Creek Territory, 
west of the Mississippi river, a blanket and a homespun frock, to each of 
the warriors, women and children, of the Seminole tribe of Indians." 

The ordinary dress of the Seminole females is a wrapper, and petticoats 
of the same material. If, under the above quoted article of the treaty, the 
females are to be furnished with a dress of the form usually worn by them, 
it will, I presume, be proper to exhibit specimens of that dress also, and 
contract for a proper proportion of them to be made. 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Gen. G. Gibson, Com. Gen. Sub. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. June 12, 1835. 
Sir : Your letter of the 20th April, in relation to the employment of an 
interpreter, was referred, on the 13th of May, to the Indian office, and was 
not acted on there, because the subject to which itjelates was deemed to 
belong peculiarly to the emigration of Indians. It was accordingly referred 
to this office a few days since. General Gibson is absent, and I therefore 
consulted the Acting Secretary of War upon it. He declines giving any 
instructions on account of the length of time which has elapsed since the 
man was employed. It is proper, therefore, that the matter should lie over 
till the Secretary of War returns, when it shall be attended to. 

Respectfully, &c. 

J. H. HOOK, U. & A. 

Act. Com. Sub. 

Brev. Brig. Gen. D. L. Clinch, 

Zj\ S. Army, Fort King, Florida. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



199 



Little Rock, A. T. June 13, 1835. 
* Sir : Herewith I have the honor to transmit a contract, with bond en- 
tered into on the 3d instant, for supplying the Seminole Indians with sub • 
sistence, from the 1st proximo, to the 31st December, 1836. 
Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

J. BROWN, Capt. U. S. Army, 

Dis. Agt. Indian Rem. 

Gen. Geo. Gibson, 

Com. Gen. Sub. Washington, D. C. 



Seminole Agency, June 18, 1835. 

Sir : Your letter of the 21st ult. addressed to General Clinch, Lieutenant 
Harris, and myself, has been received, in which you say that " the assent 
of the chief is to be attributed, it would seem, to the declaration made by 
General Clinch, that if they declined to remove voluntarily they would be 
removed by force." This declaration had been previously made by General 
Clinch, and repeated by myself, under the authority of the Department. 
As you add a grave expression of approbation of the act of making it on 
the occasion referred to, it would seem that the sentence quoted above was 
intended as a reply to a remark in my letter to the Secretary of War of the 
27th of April. When I say this course, (referring to the assurances which 
had been given to the negroes and Indians that removal west would, more 
than any thing else, serve to perpetuate their present relations,) added to 
the indefatigable exertions which General Clinch and myself have made,, 
-has secured the results which you have exhibited in the accompanying 
report. If you will do me the justice to believe that I have been honest, 
frank, vigilant, and faithful, in the discharge of my official duties, my apo- 
logy for thus noticing your remark (should an apology be thought neces- 
sary) will be obvious to you. 

Five of the principal chiefs, with several of the sub-chiefs, who acknow- 
ledged the validity of their treaties on the Occasion referred to, had informed 
us, previous to the day on which General Clinch made the declaration to 
which you refer, that they were in favor of emigration, and they promised 
$o take open and decided ground in council, but were deterred by their fears 
of those opposed to emigration. The chief Fue-e-luster Hajo, whose arrival 
had been delayed by sickness, reached the agency in the evening (after the 
council had adjourned) of the day on which General Clinch made the de- 
claration. I gave to him, in my office, a view of the state of matters, and 
in reply to my remark that the friendly chiefs who had been in council that 
day were too timid, said, that if he should lose Jris life for doing his duty, 
he had but one to lose ; and that sick as he was, he had come for the ex- 
press purpose of declaring himself openly in council in favor of emigration. 
Some of the other friendly chiefs were present, and, inspired with confi- 
dence by^the firmness of Fue-e-luster Hajo, they came out decidedly in 
favor of emigration, in open council, the succeeding day, Far be from me 
a disposition to withhold any thing from General Clinch, for indeed his 
course and exertions here are worthy of all commendation ; but I felt it duer 
to myself to notice your remark by giving a concise statement of facts. 

I have not deposed any chief or chiefs of this nation. According to the 



.200 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



custom of these Indians, their national council is composed of the chiefs and 
sub-chiefs, some of whom had. on the occasions referred to. as well as on 
previous occasions, declined to acknowledge the validity of their treaties. 
I was instructed to commence the removal. Many questions preliminary 
to. and intimately connected with, removal, must, of necessity, be adjusted 
with these people in council. The idea of submitting such questions to 
those who obstinately persist in opposition to removal, struck me as being- 
altogether absurd. 1 therefore declared in council, that I would no longer 
consider the malcontents as chiefs forming a part of the national council 
for tire adjustment of questions touching the subject of their emigration, 
unless they should, on reflection, come to the conclusion to do their duty, 
by acknowledging the validity of their treaties, which I trusted they would 
soon do, as they would thereby he reinstated in all their privileges as mem- 
bers of the council : and that 1 should henceforth look to the chiefs who 
had acknowledged the validity of their treaties, with such as may subse- 
quently sign that acknowledgment, as representing the whole nation in 
council in the adjustment of the questions referred to. 

The internal concerns of these people have been no further interferred 
with by me. of which they are sensible, as the malcontent chiefs have con- 
tinued to exercise their usual authority and privileges in all other respects. 
If a modification of this regulation should be thought requisite, do me the 
favor to instruct me on the subject. 

Very respectfully, » 
Your obedient servant. 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Mr. C. A. Harris. 

Acting Secretary of War. 



Seminole Agency. June 19, 1835. 

Sir : Your letter of the 26th ult. has been received. I had no idea that 
it would be expedient to send Colonel Yancey home, with the view to recall 
him in the tall, if he would be thereby subjected to the loss of the expense 
-of travel, because as you properly observe, the expense would be inordinate 
compared with his income. It occurred to me as being possible that the 
Department might, under the existing circumstances, give him leave of ab- 
sence until the fall, and pay the expense of his travel. Such an arrange- 
ment would have been a great relief to him: and the indulgence would 
have been such as his age and previous seiwice might, to some extent, jus- 
tify. In any view of the subject. I feel it my duty to call the attention of 
the Department to it. 

Colonel Yancey informs me (of which I believe I apprised the Depart- 
ment) that assistant agents, connected with the emigration of Indians, have 
been, in some instances heretofore, allowed the expense of their travel from 
their residence to their post. If such has been the case, permit me to ex- 
press a hope that the same liberality will be extended to him. He has 
frankly informed me that he is poor, and that his pecuniary circumstances 
and condition are embarrassed. The expense of his long travel from his 
Tcsidence to this post will, if he is compelled to defray it. be somewhat op- 
pressive to him. I make this appeal with some confidence, because I have 
no doubt that one object with the Department in appointing Colonel Yancey 



[ Doc. No, 271. ] 



201 



to this service, was to afford him pecuniary aid. I promptly repealed the 
regulation which prohibited the sale of arms, powder, and lead, to these 
Indians. Yet I am satisfied that its operation had been salutary, and I be- 
lieve it would have continued to be so if it had been maintained. 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Major J. H. Hook, 

Acting Commissary General of Subsistence. 



Emigration op Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. July 1, 1835* 
Sir : Your communications of the 3d ultimo are received. You have 
my permission to pass a month or two for the recovery of your health, at 
the medicinal springs of Virginia, or elsewhere, if it meets the sanction of 
General W. Thompson, special agent. 

On application to the Treasury, in reference to the remittance of ftf O.OTO 
to New Orleans, the officers of that Department exhibited the receipt of the 
cashier of the Union Bank of Louisiana, dated the 9th April last, for the 
amount, and of instructions to hold the same subject to your order. Your 
check has, therefore, been improperly refused. It may be remarked, the 
other remittances have also reached their destination. 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. & 

Lieut. J. W. Harris, 

Disbursing' Agent, Seminoles, Fort King, Florida. 



Fort King, Florida, 

July 20, 1835. 

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communica- 
tions of the 9th and 23d May. 

Enclosed with this, are Joel Yancey's receipts for $184, being amount 
of pay due from 1st June to 16th July inclusive, forwarded in blank re- 
ceipt agreeably to your directions. 

My quarterly returns will be covered by the next mail. They have been 
delayed chiefly through inability to sit at my table. Your earliest advices 
are again respectfully solicited, concerning sundry suggestions made in the 
report of Gen. Thompson, &c. of the 24th, and in my letter of the 29th of 
April last. 

I have the honor to be, <fcc. 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, 
Lit. DisWg Agt. Florida Indians. 

Brig. Gen. George Gibson, 

Commissary General, fyc* 



Seminole Agency, July 20, 1835, 
Sir : On the 3d ultimo I addressed you on the subject of the frocks to be 
furnished to the Seminole Indians under the 3d article of the treaty of 
Pavneis Landing, entered into between the United States and the Seminole 
Indians in 1832/ 



202 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



If the transportation of these people to their new home, is to be by water, 
as I trust it will, the port of New York should be visited by the disbursing 
agent, for the purpose of obtaining transports, where they can be more 
readily obtained, and on more favorable terms than at any other point. 
Should this be determined on, I submit to you whether it would not be 
best to contract in that city for the requisite number of frocks ? Should you 
agree with me in opinion, that a better contract can be obtained in New 
York, than in the city of New Orleans, specimen frocks can, under your 
instructions, be sent to Washington or New York, and the contract filled in 
time for the frocks to be shipped by the transports from the city of New 
York. 

Respectfully, &c. 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Gen. Geo. Gibson. 



/* Emigration of Indians, 

Office Com. Gen. of Sub. July 22, 1835. 

Sir : I have to-day received yours of the 19th ult. Colonel Yancey 
is right in regard to alluwances having been made to assistant agents for 
travelling expenses from their places of residence to their posts. But the 
rule is now established, as a reference to the circular of the 28th February 
last, of which you have been sent a copy, will show, " that the pay of no 
agent will commence till he reports for duty to his immediate superin- 
tendent." 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. S. 

Cren. Wiley Thompson, 

ISupt. Removal Seminoles, Sem. Agency, Florida. 



Seminole Agency, 

August 1, 1835. 

Sir: I herewith enclose to you statements of agents and others employed 
in the removal and subsistence of the Florida Indians in the two first quar- 
ters of the present year. 

Do me the favor to send me a supply of blank forms for these quarterly 

returns. 

In the operation of appraising and selling the cattle belonging to the 
Seminoles, it will be necessary to select some point or points, convenient 
for an assemblage of the white settlers who may wish to purchase. [ am 
much at a loss in making the selection. Should the sales be made at this 
post, or any point within the Indian boundary, a host of speculators would 
thereby be brought into the nation, many of whom, it is to be feared, would 
throw embarrassments in our way by tampering with these people. It is a 
fact, notorious here, that too large a portion of the population bordering 
upon these Indians, are so disposed ; and that I am in bad odor with them 
because I have been able (thank heaven), to restrain, to some considerable 
extent, their swindling practices upon the Indians, by keeping the former 
without, and the latter within, the Indian boundary. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 203 



Alachua county lies adjoining the northern boundary of the Indian re- 
servation, which, with the next adjoining county, contains a considerable 
population. The village of Micoanopa, is in Alachua county, twenty-six 
miles from this post, and about seventeen from the Indian line. 1 therefore 
suggest Micoanopa, or some convenient point between that and the line, 
as one place of sale. Some place in the neighborhood of Pilatka, on the 
St John's river, might be selected. Another point fayorable to the object 
may be selected on the St. John's river, east of the reservation. 

Your advice and instructions are respectfully solicited. 

Respectfully, &c. 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

•Gen. G. Gibson. 



Fort King, Florida, August 3, 1835. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge yours of the 1st ultimo, obligingly 
granting me permission to pass a month or two at the Virginia Spa, or else- 
where, for the recovery of my health. 

In consequence of the lateness of the season, and my present state of 
health forbidding immediate journeying, I shall be unable to avail myself 
of your polite indulgence. I have also the honor to forward, under cover 
with this, my account current, statement of agents, and return of provisions 
for the second quarter, illness having chiefly prevented my making these 
returns before. 

The present prospects of emigration are promising. It is probable the 
superintendent of the removal will shortly make his requisition upon me for 
subsistence and transportation. Should he require water carriage, I shall 
doubtlessly set out for New York by the close of this or the commencement 
of the coming month. Should land transportation be required, I cannot 
too soon be making ready, if it is contemplated to remove the Indians before 
the spring. It must be constantly borne in mind that the Mississippi bot- 
toms, indeed the land for one hundred miles west, after crossing the river, 
is impassable in the months of January, February, and March. 
I am. sir. with great respect, <fec. 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, 
Disb. Agent, Florida Indians. 

Brig, Gen. George Gibson, 

Commissary General, dj*c 



Seminoee Agency, August 13, 1835. 
Sir: Since I have been here I have not troubled you with any commu- 
nication, knowing that the various and ramified duties of your office would 
sufficiently occupy your attention in corresponding with the principal Indian 
agents, exclusive of those in subordinate capacities, among which I am 
here ; but, seeing that in my commission of the 2d of March last as an 
assistant agent in the removal of the Seminole Indians, (west,) reference 
is made to a provision in the printed instructions transmitted me then, 
relative to what compensation I should be entitled to in going west with 
a detachment of Indians, I have concluded, as it was alluded to in 



204 [ Doc. No. 271. ] 



my commission, that it was contemplated by you that I was to go, 
as a part of my duty, as assistant agent. Under that impression, I applied 
to General Thompson, the special agent, for advice and instructions, and he 
preferred my applying to you. which I do now, that I may know explicitly 
when the time of starting shall arrive, and even before then, whether it is 
your pleasure and expectation that I am to go, and knowing that you are 
the dernier resort in case of any ambiguity, I make this appeal to you for 
your decision; and having had a daughter married spring before last, who 
has with her husband settled in Boonville, on Missouri river. I could go by 
and see her on my way home. Please to send me your decision as soon as- 
convenient after the reception of this. 

I am, sir, with sentiments of great respect, 

Your friend and obedient servant, 

JOEL YANCEY. 

The Hon. Lewis Cass, 

Secretary of War. Washington City. 

P. S. As the removal of the Indians west of the Mississippi is lap- object 
the Government has in view, and as I am commissioned as an assistant 
agent in that service, I conclude that my services as an auxiliary would not 
cease previous to their arrival west of the Mississippi river. 
Very respectfullv. your obedient servant, 

JOEL YANCEY. 



St. Augustine, August 24, 1835. 
General : I have the honor to request your attention to the subject of a 
communication, made to the Secretary of War by me last spring, in favor 
of a Mr. Winslet, for services, &c. rendered as interpreter to the troops sta- 
tioned at Tampa Bay and its vicinity, which I learned was referred from 
the War Department to the Department under your control. Mr. Winslet 
has long been an active and faithful friend to the cause of emigration, and 
in his present character of interpreter, &c. at Tampa Bay, has rendered im- 
portant services, and been at very great expense, as will appear by reference 
to a letter addressed to me by Major Zantzinger, which accompanied my 
communication to the Secretary of War. Your attention to this subject 
will be an act of justice to a faithful agent of the Government, and will be 
acknowledged by me. 

In haste, I remain, general, 

With high respect and esteem, 
Your friend. 

' D. L. CLINCH, B. B. fye. 

General G. Gibson. 



Emigration of Indians. 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. August 26, 1835. 
Sir : I have just received yours of the 1st instant, and hasten to reply 
to it, that so far as the subject of which it treats is connected with the re- 
moval of the Florida Indians, it may be disposed of speedily. 

In my letter of the 3d of April, ultimo, you will find fall directions as to 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



205 



the mode of procedure in the sale of cattle ; and I refer you to that letter 
by which I wish you particularly to be governed, except that it will not be 
necessary to brand the cattle, in as much as those frauds which that was 
intended to prevent, cannot be practised, if all the Indians remove at once. 

You recommend several points at which sales should be made. I have 
no objection to your pursuing the course indicated. In fine, Heave to your 
discretion every part of the business, not necessarily affecting my instruc- 
tions above referred to ; for I feel confident you will exercise it for the 
benefit of the Indians. 

Assistant agent Yancey has been pointed out as the person to perform 
this duty. It will, I believe, require at least one other person ; and you are 
authorized to employ such person at four dollars a day, in full of all ex- 
penses. But you will, before the agents undertake the duty, see that they 
comprehend properly the mode of its performance, that they may be able 
to furnish you such information as is demanded by the instructions to be 
embraced in the " statement of cattle." 

A copy of the "statement" will be furnished to me as soon as it is made. 

Lieutenant Harris recommends that the " hogs" belonging to the Indians, 
should be considered as cattle, and valued and sold accordingly. This 
cannot be done. He also recommends that the poneys should be packed 
into Tampa Bay, just before embarking, and there sold at public sale, after 
valuation by the appraising agent. I would approve of this course in pre- 
ference to their being driven round by land ; but it must not be understood 
that the United States will furnish other poneys in lieu of them, west of the 
Mississippi, or, as in the case with their obligations with regard to cattle, 
that they will pay the Indian the difference between the valuation and the 
sale. But I should desire, in case the plan of packing them in and selling 
them would answer, that every facility be given by the agents by way of 
securing to the Indians the full value of their poneys. You will consider 
this maturely, and report to me upon it without delay. 

I will advert to the postscript of your letter of 27th April last. The 
letter was replied to. but you recommended in the postscript, evidently in 
connection with the former part of the letter, that an assistant agent of 
sober, steady habits, should be employed to aid in the removal, in case it is 
procrastinated in accordance with the joint report made by General Clinch, 
yourseifj and Lieutenant Harris. I am directed to say, that, if the present 
assistant agent is incompetent, he will be suspended by you ; and if the 
grounds of the suspension be approved, he will be discharged. But I can- 
not conceal the desire, that, if with proper admonition, he may be able to 
perform his duty, you should consent to his continuance in service. I do 
not apprehend any difficulty in supplying competent assistants : they will, 
without doubt, be obtained from the military service, as contemplated by 
the instructions you have already received. If it can j^e done, the agents 
shall consist of officers and non-commissioned officers,, selected under the 
direction of General Clinch, from his command ; of this yeu will be duly 
informed. 

I have consulted the Secretary of War, in regard to the Indian frocks, 
and have recommended the procuring them at the north. You will, agree- 
ably to the intimation in your letters of the 3d June and 20th July, have 
specimens made, say three sizes for males and females, each. And, that 
there may be the least practicable delay, you can ship them to Baltimore, 
Philadelphia, or New York, according as the first opportunity may serve. 



206 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



addressed to the quartermaster of the United States Army at either place. 
You will at the same time advise me of the shipment, and write by mail to 
the officer to whom the frocks are sent, stating to him that I will instruct 
him further in relation to them. 

Lieutenant Harris's going to New York is approved. Instructions in 
relation to his duties will be forwarded to him there, of which you shall 
have copies. 

Respectfully, (fee. 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. S. 

Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

Superintendent Seminole Removal, 

Fort King, Florida. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. August 277 £835. 
Sir : I have just received yours of the 3d instant. Your going to New 
York is entirely approved. Bat I have been unable, until now, to instruct 
you on the subject of the Seminole removal. The Secretary of War has 
only returned to this city within a few days ; and the press of other matter 
has hitherto precluded action upon many of the propositions contained in 
the joint report of Generals Clinch, Thompson, and yourself. You will 
find enclosed a copy of a letter of yesterday's date, to General Thompson : 
it will inform you upon some of the matters connected with your duties. 
As soon as you can do so, you will report to me the result of your in- 
quiries in the port of New York for transportation. Shortly after that 
reaches' me, you shall receive definite instructions in regard thereto. What- 
ever engagements it may be thought proper to make, must of course be 
based upon the prospects of the removal ; and it is hoped that you have 
an understanding with the superintendent, by which you may be enabled, 
through the most accurate information to be conveyed to you, to run as little 
risk as possible of the expenditure of money unnecessarily. I am willing, 
however, even with no additional assurances beyond those you have re- 
ceived from your own observation and experience, that you should proceed 
with the business on hand. 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. S. 

Lieut. Joseph W. Harris, 

Disbursing Agent Seminoles, 

New York City. 



Seminole Agency, 

August 29 : 1835. 

Sir : I herewith submit to you a general plan of operations for the re- 
moval of the Seminole Indians. You will perceive that I have, in the 
adoption of this plan, been compelled to predicate my estimates tipon con- 
jecture. The impossibility of obtaining a census of the nation, added to 
the continued obstinate disaffection of some of the principal chiefs and their 
followers, forms a prolific source of perplexity and embarrassment. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 207 

I have resorted to all practicable means of information to ascertain, with a. 
) probable approach to precision, the actual number of the whole Seminole peo- 
ple; and I am induced to believe, that it but very little exceeds three thousand. 
Upon the voluntary assent of all the chiefs, a successful and correct valua- 
tion and sale of the Indian cattle mainly depends. Should a portion of the 
chiefs, or any one of them, persist in their refusal to surrender their cattle, 
loss to the Indians, or to the United States, wtll inevitably accrue, as the 
disaffected chiefs with their followers must be assembled at the point of the 
bayonet. In that case it will, perhaps, be impossible to identify their cattle, 
as it will be necessary, after taking custody of them, to keep them closely . 
guarded until they reach their new home. The importance 01 cutting off all 
intercourse, as far as practicable, between the whites and the Indians, for- 
bids the selection of any point within the Indian limits, for the exposition 
of the cattle for sale. I have, therefore, concluded to select two points on 
the Indian border, at which, on given days, cattle will be received from 
such Indians and Indian negroes as may voluntarily surrender them there, 
and cause them to be immediately appraised, branded and sold, of which sale 
ample previous notice shall be given ; and rely upon taking advantage of cir- 
cumstances to accomplish the appraisement and sale of the cattle belonging to 
the disaffected. If some plan could be devised and executed, by which the 
j a Indian poneys could be disposed of here, instead of sending them over land 

j to Arkansas, it would relieve the Government from considerable trouble and 
expense now, and much perplexity in future, as there can be but little doubt 
that during a transportation by land, many of the poneys would die or be 
lost, and the balance reach the new country broken down, which would pro- 
duce great dissatisfaction among the Indians, and would lay the foundation 

! of numerous claims for indemnity. In my letter of the 20th ultimo, ad- 
dressed to you, I suggested the expediency of a contract being made in 

i New York for a supply of Indian frocks under the 3d article of the treaty 
of Payne's Landing, provided the disbursing agent should visit that post 
for the purpose of obtaining transports. As Lieut. Harris will visit New 
York for the purpose of procuring six transports, I venture to recommend 
that he be instructed to contract, in that city, for the requisite number of 
frocks, and ship them on board the transports which he may obtain, The 
material and the labor of making it into frocks can be obtained in New York 
on terms more favorable to the Government than in New Orleans, Be- 
sides, there is no homespun here of the requisite quality, out of which to make 
specimen frocks, and it is a considerable distance from this post to where 
they can be obtained. On the 3d of June last, I addressed to you an in- 
quiry, as to the propriety of furnishing to the Seminole females, wrappers 
and petticoats, the form of dress usually worn by them, instead of the frock, 
(which is exclusively worn by the males,) as provided for by the treaty, io 
which I have not yet received an answer. These considerations have in- 
duced me to suggest the arrangement, as above described, and I have fur- 
nished Lieut. Harris, with an Indiamfroek, to be exhibited as a sample of 
the form. Lieut. Harris can select the requisite quality. Should you dis- 
approve of this suggestion, do me the favor to apprise me immediately, and 
tell me whether any, and if any, what number of female frocks shall be 
made. I am deeidedly of the opinion that individuals detailed from the 
army, as conductors, assistant conductors, laborers, &c., would be most ef- 
fective and economical, they having had more experience than citizens. 

I Besides, judging from my knowledge of the white population in this section 



203 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



of country, I do not think a sufficient number ot competent persons could 
be obtained here to fill those stations. The present temper of many of 
these Indians, added to the restless, irritable, and fiery temperament which: 
characterize the Seminoles generally, suggests the propriety of a sufficient 
guard on board of each transport, to enforce subordination and maintain a 
proper police. I shall soon greatly need the aid of some efficient man, as 
assistant special agent ; my recommendation of Mr. David M. Sheffield is 
already before you, whom 1 beg you will consider in nomination by me 
for that appointment. The names of the interpreters, and all others to be 
employed, shall in due time be reported to you. 

1 think Lieut. Harris will need the aid of an assistant in the peformance of 
the arduous duties devolving upon him. As the appraisement and sale of 
the Indian cattle is to be a forced business, I submit to you the importance 
of associating some intelligent active man with Colonel Yancey in the per- 
formance of that duty. 

I submit herewith copies of my letters of the 28th instant, one addressed 
to General Clinch, one to the Governor of the Territory, and one to Lieut. 
Harris. You will perceive from my letter to Lieut. Harris, that I have con- 
fided much to his experience, judgment, and discretion, a confidence which, 
I am sure, you will not consider misplaced. 

Lieut. Harris will visit Washington on his way to the north, to whom I 
beg leave to refer you for such explanations as you may desire, and for general 
iniotrfiration relative to the existing state of affairs here. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant. 

WILEY THOMPSON, 
Superintendent temoval. 

•Gen. G. Gibson. 



War Department, August 29, 1835. 

Sir: Since my return to the Department your letter of the 18th June has 
been laid before me. 

It is not necessary for me to enter in much detail on the subject presented 
y yru. I understand from Mr. Harris that he communicated to you the 
President's vie ws on the subject of the chiefs whom you declined to recog- 
nise in all questions connected with the removal of the Seminoles. I un- 
derstand that the President deemed this course an incorrect one ; and it 
seems to me obviously liable to strong objections. We do not assume the 
right of determining who shall be the chiefs in the various Indian tribes ; 
this is a matter of internal police which must necessarily be left to them- 
selves. And if, when we have a grave matter for adjustment with one of 
the tribes, we undertake to say it shall be determined by a particular class 
of individuals, we certainly shouM render ourselves obnoxious to censure. 
It appears to me the proper course, upon important questions, is to treat di- 
rectly with the tribe itself; and if they depute their chiefs, or any other in- 
dividual to act for them, we must either recognise such authority or aban- 
don the object in view. 

I do not doubt the correctness of your motives ; I have every confidence 
in your faithful and zealous execution of your duties; and I have every rea- 
son to be satisfied with your general course, and with the results that are in 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



209 



prospect, i do not see that this difficult and delicate affair connected with 
die removal of the Seminole Indians, particularly in the state of mind 
evinced by them, could have been managed with more prudence and judg- 
ment than it has been done by General Clinch and yourself. 

Respectfully, &c. 

LEWIS CASS, 

Secretary of Wan 

General Wiley Thompson, 

Supt. Sem. Rem. Sem. Agency ; Florida. 



Emigration op Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. September 2, 1835. 
Sir : In consequence of the important character of a letter addressed to 
you from this office, under date of the 26th ultimo, a copy thereof is here- 
with enclosed. 

Address this office as heretofore. 

Respectfully, &c. 

J. H. HOOK, U. S. Army, 

Acting Com. Sub. 

General Wiley Thompson, 

Sup. Sem. Rem. Fort King, Florida. 



Seminole Agency, September 3, 1835. 
Sir: I herewith enclose for your information a copy of the "general 
plan of operations" which I have adopted for the removal of the Seminole 
Indians to Rock Row, on White river. 

The disaffection of several of the principal chiefs of this tribe, with their 
immediate dependants, renders it utterly impossible to obtain a correct 
census of the tribe. I have assumed that the round number of three thou- 
sand embraces all of every description. This assumption is based upon the 
best attainable data; and yet the estimate is involved in much uncertainty, 
as indeed, the successful progress of the whole enterprise is. 

I will promptly apprise you of the progress of my operations, and of any- 
changes that circumstances may render indispensable or unavoidable. 

Respectfully, &c. 

WILEY THOMPSON, 

Supt. Seminole Removal. 

Captain J. Brown. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. September 3, 1 835. 

Sir: The Secretary of War has received a letter from assistant agent 
Yancey, who is desirous of going west with the emigration. If the origi- 
nal plan of removing one-third at a time, had been acted upon, it might be* 
very proper for him to remain behind ; but his services will not be wanted 



210 



[ Doc, No. 271. ] 



in Florida, after the emigration starts, and, therefore* the Secretary is wil- 
ling that he shall accompany it to the west of the Mississippi. 

Respectfully, &c. 

J. H. HOOK, U. S. Army, 

Acting- Com. Sub. 

General "Wiley Thompson, 

Sup. Rem. Se?n. Fort King, Florida. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. September 8, 1835. 

Sir : Agreeably to an intimation already given you, application has been 
made to the Secretary of War for a detail of officers and non-commissioned 
officers to act temporarily as agents in the Seminole removal. Instructions 
have issued from the office of the Adjutant General to General Clinch to de- 
tail from his command " four officers and six non-commissioned officers or 
privates, provided this number can be detailed without injury to the ser- 
vice." They will act under the direction of General Thompson and your- 
self, according to circumstances. 

You were addressed at New York from this office on the 27th ultimo* 
Enclosed is a copy of a letter of the 3d instant to General Thompson. 

Respectfully, &c. 

J. H. HOOK, U. S. Army, 

Acting Com. Sub. 

Lieut. Joseph W. Harris, 

Dis. Agent Sem. Fort King, Florida. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office. Com. Gen. of Sub. September 8, 1835. 

Sir : There will be a detail, at a suitable time, to be indicated by you.' 
from the command of General Clinch, of four officers and six non-com- 
missioned officers, " provided this number can be detailed without injury 
to the service." They will act as temporary assistants in the Seminole re- 
moval under the direction of yourself and Lieutenant Harris, according to 
circumstances. 

Respectfully, &c. 

J. H. HOOK, U. S. Army, 

Act. Com. Sub. 

-Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

Sup. Removal Seminoles, Fort King, Florida. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. September 10, 1835. 
Sir : During the absence of the Secretary of War from this city, your 
letter to the Adjutant General in relation to the claim of Mr. Winslet, for 
compensation as interpreter, with an enclosed letter to you from Major 
Zantzinger on the same subject, was referred to this office. No decision 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



could be made, as it had not been officially made known before his employ- 
ment that Mr. Winslet's services were necessary, until the Secretary's re- 
turn ; since which the first opportunity has been taken of calling his atten- 
tion to it. The following is the decision which has been made known to 
the superintendent. That Mr. Winslet be allowed two dollars and a half 
a day for the period during which he has necessarily used a horse, and at 
the rate of forty dollars a month at other times. If his services should be 
demanded in future, the superintendent will employ him on the above 
mentioned terms. 

Respectfully, &c. 

J. H. HOOK, U. S. Army, 

Acting Com, Sub. 

Brevet Brig. Gen. D. L. Clinch, 

U. S. Army, St. Augustine, Florida. 

N. B. Since writing the foregoing, your letter to the Commissary General 
of Subsistence, dated 24th ultimo, has come to hand. 



Emigration op Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. September 10, 1835. 

Sir : General Clinch has recommended that Mr. Winslet, employed by 
you as interpreter, be allowed compensation for his services. The Secre- 
tary of War has decided that whilst Mr. Winslet necessarily used a horse 
in performance of the duty, he be allowed two dollars and fifty cents a day. 
at other times at the rate of forty dollars a month. 

If his services are needed, you are hereby authorized to continue him at 
the same rate of emolument. It will be proper, in your requisitions for 
his pay, to certify to the fact of his having used a horse whenever the 
higher pay is allowed. 

Respectfully, &c. 

J. H. HOOK, U. 8. Army, 

Acting Com, Sub. 

Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

Sup. Seminole Removal, Fort King, Florida. 



Seminole Agency, September 21, 1835. 

Sir : In compliance with your instructions of the 26th ultimo, relative 
to Indian poneys, I have the honor to report, that the settlement on and 
about Tampa Bay, exclusive of the cantonment at what is called Tampa, 
does not consist of more than twenty to thirty families, as I am informed 
and believe, and a majority of them quite poor. This settlement is sepa- 
rated from the other settled parts of Florida, by the Seminole country. 
The distance which intervenes between the Tampa settlement and the 
nearest civilized settlers is, perhaps, more than one hundred miles. I do 
not think that more than from twenty to thirty poneys could be sold at that 
point, for any thing like an equivalent. 

I do not believe that the Indians could be induced to assent to the ar- 
rangement which you suggest. They might possibly be induced to con- 
sent to the experiment being made in a more thickly populated section of 
the Territory, especially if I could personally superintend such experiment 



212 



[ Doc. No. 271/ ] 



to guard their interest. I have been laboring to induce the Indians to em- 
brace every opportunity to sell their poneys ; and during the past spring 
and summer, somewhere about fifty were sold at very good prices. 

I have had a thought of proposing to the Indians, the plan of selling 
their poneys at the times and places, when and where the cattle are to be 
sold. Public notice of the sale of the cattle could also embrace the poneys, 
and sales of the latter could be made privately or at auction, as the respec- 
tive owners might prefer, and still a surplus will be on hand to be disposed 
of here, or driven over land to Arkansas. 

I ko not know what disposition can be made of the hogs. The con- 
tinued disaffection of many of the Indians presents, in the poneys, cattle 
and hogs, a source of much anxiety and perplexity. 

Respectfully, <fcc. 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

General G. Gibson. 

P. S. I herewith enclose a copy of my letter to Captain J. Brown. 



Seminole Agency, September 21, 1835. 

Sir : Your letter of the 26th ultimo, has been received, and 1 advert 
separately to your reply to the postscript to my letter of the 27th of April 
last. My recommendation that an efficient man of sober steady habits, 
should be appointed to aid the special agent in the performance of the 
higher duties of his station, was made under the influence of my general 
impressions, and deep conviction of the importance of those qualifications 
in public agents, especially when engaged in a service as arduous and deli- 
cate as this is. Candor, however, demands of me the admission, that the 
reported and apparent habits of the assistant agent (now here) about that 
time were calculated, somewhat, to force that conviction more deeply into 
my mind. About the period referred to, I admonished him in a respectful 
and friendly, but plain manner. He promptly corrected what was thought 
to be wrong, and his habits have ever since been, (as far as I know,) sober 
and steady. He is, I think, honest and faithful, and heartily disposed to 
afford me all possible aid in forwarding the views of the Government. I 
have no intention or wish to to suspend him : on the contrary I should 
derive much satisfaction from being able to serve him, as I believe him to 
be an honest and needy man. He will be fully competent to the perform- 
ance of the duty assigned to him. aided as he will be in obedience to your 
instructions. I have hitherto considered Col. Yancey an assistant agent, 
appointed in conformity to the 5th article of the treaty of 1832, with the 
Seminole Indians, for the purpose of valuing the cattle to be surrendered 
by them. The 4th paragraph under the head of " special agents" in the 
"regulations concerning the removal of the Indians," induced me to suppose 
that the nomination of ordinary employees in removal of the Indians, 
would be expected of me ; hence my recommendation of Mr. D. M. Shef- 
field. If, however, it was intended that Colonel Yancey should fill the 
station for which I recommended Mr. Sheffield, I must frankly, (with great 
reluctance) say, that 1 do not think he will be of much service. I ought 
to have the aid of a ready writer, quick of apprehension, enterprising, and 
of business tact. The duty of thus expressing my opinion, is the more 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



213 



unpleasant, because it is not natural to suppose that Colonel Yancey would 
be able duly to appreciate my motives. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Gen. G. Gibson. 



Seminole Agency, September 21, 1835. 
Sir : Your letter of the 29th ult. has been received, and I am gratified 
to learn that you approve of my general course in the performance of my 
official duties. In drawing up the joint report of Gen. Clinch, Lieutenant 
Harris and myself, addressed to the Department, Mr. Harris used terms 
which, as I understand by the Acting' Secretary's letter, induced the Presi- 
dent to suppose that I had deposed five of the principal chiefs : the Presi- 
dent disapproved of the deposition of the chiefs by a Government agent. 
If I had deposed the chiefs, I should have been in error. Mr. Harris has 
since informed me, that he did not intend to convey the idea which was 
entertained by the President. In the hurry of the moment, the phrase- 
ology of the sentence was overlooked. My declaration on the occasion 
was simply, that I should no longer consider the disaffected as chiefs for- 
ming a part of the national council, for the adjustment of questions con- 
nected with emigration; but that I should in future consider those chiefs 
who acknowledge the validity of the treaties, as representing the whole na- 
tion, in the adjustment of such question ; and I have done so because it ap- 
peared to me to be absurd to submit questions in contemplation of the emi- 
gration, to those who had directly negatived the main question. Not long 
since, the route to be pursued in the removal became the subject of dis- 
cussion between myself and the friendly chiefs, and I had considerable 
difficulty in obtaining their unconditional consent to the adoption of the 
water route. In this, however, I finally succeeded. If the question had 
been submitted to the chiefs generally, I have no idea that the same conclu- 
sion would have been arrived at. The question as to the route, involves 
the main question, which regards the removal ; the main question has been 
negatived by the disaffected ; they would therefore have objected to the 
water route, especially as the friendly chiefs were disposed to do so, which 
would have confirmed the latter in their opposition. I was of opinion that 
such questions ought to be submitted alone to the friendly chiefs, as it is 
determined that the treaty shall be carried into effect, in disregard of the 
objections of the disaffected chiefs. If 1 am wrong in this view of the sub- 
ject I desire to be put right. I have not attempted to depose any chief, nor 
have I interfered in the internal concerns of these people, further than is ex- 
pressed above. A large portion of these Indians are in a very destitute 
condition. If the stipulations of the treaty may, in your judgment, be so 
far departed from, I would recommend that the blankets and frocks, to be 
furnished in compliance with the treaty, be delivered to the Indians when 
safe on board the transports. This would afford them much relief, without 
which, I fear, many will suffer much. I was instructed by you, during the 
last fall, to inform these Indians that the next annuity would be paid them 
in their new country. The friendly chiefs say their people are in a suffer- 
ing condition, and they ask, as a favor, that the next annuity be paid before 



214 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



the removal commences, to enable them to supply themselves with clothing. 
It has occurred to me that it may have a good effect, to say to them (were I 
authorized to do so) that the annuity shall be paid to them at the general 
rendezvous, on Tampa Bay. The traders can be induced to furnish goods 
there, and many Indians, now disaffected or indifferent, might thereby be 
lured to that point. I have always been entirely opposed to any and every 
thing having a semblance of bribery ; but my observations upon the state 
of things here, have brought me, through mature reflections, to the conclu- 
sion that a small sum of money, judiciously used here, would serve the 
cause of humanity and consult economy. Several of the principal chiefs 
obstinately persist in their disaffection ; three of these are influential, each 
having a considerable number of adherents. If these could be induced to 
yield, I think our operations would then be harmonious. There is also a 
very influential negro in the nation, who loves money, I believe, as well as 
any person I ever saw ; I allude to Abraham, whose name is known at the 
Department. This man accompanied the Seminole delegation to the west 
as interpreter. He has (in my possession) Major Phagan's certificate, that 
he is entitled for his service to two hundred and eighty some dollars, for 
which. Major Phagan, on the presentation of Abraham's receipt at the De- 
partment, received credit. Abraham says he never gave a receipt ; that he 
has been imposed upon ; and he is consequently more indifferent upon the 
subject of emigration, than I think he would otherwise have been. I have 
little doubt that a few hundred dollars would make him zealous and active. 
Should the course suggested be considered admissible, I would advise that 
no money be paid, but on the production of the effect desired. The pro- 
duction of the desired effect would, in my estimation, justify the means 
proposed to be used, as thereby, loss to the Indians of poneys, cattle, and 
hogs, and perhaps bloodshed, would be prevented, and a consequent and 
corresponding saving of expense to the Government. 

I have the honor to be, 

Sir, very respectfully, 
Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Gen. Geo. Gibson, 

Com. Gen. Sub. <$*c. 



Smithville, N. C. September 29, 1835. 

Sir : I have the honor to report to you, that I left the Seminole agency 
on the 4th inst. That on my journey to Charleston, I was attacked with the 
common bilious fever of tfie country : that at Charleston I was detained 
with this ten days, when considering myself well enough, I embarked in 
the steam packet for Norfolk, and was left sick at this place four days since. 
My fever has abated, and if opportunity offers, I hope to be in Washington 
in 7 to 10 days at farthest. Am too week at present to proceed by land. 
I write this chiefly to advise the Department, that should it consider the 
delay too great, they may appoint my successor. 

Enclosed with this, I have the honor to cover a plan of operations in 
detail for the removal and subsistence of Florida Indians, submitted by 
myself to the special agent, General Thompson ; also, estimate of subsis- 
tence, based upon said plan, together with letters of advice. This docu- 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



215 



meut contains pretty much all my present ideas upon the subject, inclu- 
ding my own duties, manner of getting up and closing contracts, &c. 

In the hands of Gen. Thompson, at the agency, are all vouchers of dis- 
bursements on file ; file of official letters received ; statement of moneys 
due United States, and where located ; as also subsistence received, issued, 
and on hand. These will, together with such advices as Gen. Thompson 
can readily give, place a beginner about as much at home in the business 
as I am. 

I also forward by this mail an Indian hunting shirt, as a pattern for those 
called for by the treaty. I concur with Gen. T. in thinking it would be 
economy to have them made up in New York ; also, that warriors hunting 
shirts are not adapted to females; they require the petticoat and wrapper. 
The former commencing at the waist and covering the feet, the latter 
of simple cloak fashion, without a cape, to extend half way below the knees 
The latter I would recommend should be estimated for in cloth, and given 
to the squaws to be made up by themselves. As these Indians are remov- 
ing to a colder climate, and as great many of them are almost, and many 
quite naked, it would be humanity to give them a homespun of mixed cot- 
ton and woollen, the more flashy colors, the more pleasing to the In- 
/ dian. I consider the population, including negroes, not to exceed 3,000, of 
which I should say 1,600 are females. 

The special agent has repeatedly applied for an assistant ; I think the 
welfare of the service requires he should have one of his own selection. 
Accept, sir, my best wishes, &c. 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, Lieut. 

DisVg. Agent. Florida Indians. 

Brig. Gen. Geo. Gibson, 

Com. Gen. fyc. 



St. Augustine, October 5, 1835. 
Sir: Active operations, connected with the removal of the Seminole In- 
dians, will soon commence, and I desire the aid of your services as an in- 
terpreter, in return for which I can only offer to you the highest rate of com- 
pensation that, the regulations of the Department of War will allow. I have 
heretofore informed you what the prescribed allowance is ; an'd satisfied as 
I am that your services in that station are requisite, and will be of im- 
portance in the accomplishment of the enterprise, I tender to you that ap- 
pointment at the rate of allowance suggested. If you accept, you will 
report to me at the Seminole agency, for duty, on the first day of the ensu- 
ing month, or as soon thereafter as possible, to accompany me through the 
Seminole nation for the purpose of exploring the route by which the Indian s r 
who are to assemble at the agency, will pass to the general rendezvous on 
Tampa Bay, and to select points for encampment on the route. Your com- 
pensation will commence from the date of your report of yourself for duty.. 
Should you decline, you are requested to inform me without delay. 

Respectfully, 

Your humble servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

.Mr.. Stephen Richards. 



$16 [ Doc. No. 271. ] 

St. Mary's, Geo. October 10 7 1835. 
Sir : In pursuance of instructions from the Commissary General of Sub- 
sistence, I have this day made arrangements to ship on board the shooner 
Maria, Captain Olmstead master, of and bound to New York, from this port, 
a small box addressed to you, containing samples of Indian dresses, to be 
held by you, subject to the order of the Commissary General of Subsistence. 

Yery respectfully, 

Your humble servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON 
Superintendent Seminole Removal. 

"To the Quartermaster 

of the U. S. Army, at New York. 



St. Mary's, Oct 10, 1835. 

Sir: I furnished Lieutenant J. W. Harris (as I heretofore informed you) 
with a ready made Indian frock, which he will take with him to Washing- 
ton. In compliance with your instructions of the 26th August last, I have this 
day deposited with Doctor Henry Holland, health officer of this post, a small 
box, directed to -the Quartermaster of the United States Army" at New York, 
containing two Indian frocks and three Indian petticoats and wrappers, to be 
shipped on board the schooner Maria, Captain Olmstead master, of and for 
New York. She is expected to sail on the day after to-morrow. These 
frocks, petticoats, and wrappers, with the frock in the possession of Lieut. 
Harris, give the three sizes, in accordance with your instructions. It was 
impossible to obtain good material, and the necessity of furnishing the sam- 
ples "with the least practicable delay/'' put it out of my power to have the 
work executed in as good style as it would otherwise have been, and ought to 
be done. The frocks, petticoats, and wrappers, therefore, show the form or 
fashion, and order of trimming only. Permit me to suggest that the mate- 
rial to be used should be of a texture calculated to protect these Indians 
from the cold of a higher latitude than they have been accustomed to. I 
herewith enclose to you a copy of my letter to the Quartermaster of the 
United States Army at New York: also a copy of my letter to Mr. Stephen 
Richards, whose services as interpreter are indispensable. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON, 
Superintendent Seminole Removal. 
<jren. George Gibson, Com. Gen. fyc. 



Washington City, Oct. 12, 1835. 

Sir: Permit me respectfully to call your attention to the following points 
connected with the removal ftf Florida Indians. 

1st. The time fixed for assembling these Indians for removal, is the 8th 
January, 1836. It is necessary that prompt and efficient measures should 
he adopted to accomplish this object: among which are an increase of mi- 
litary force at Fort King, say from two to four companies. Authority to the 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



217 



special agent, General Thompson, to draw at discretion upon Gen. Clinch 
for officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates, to serve as conductors, 
assistant conductors, and butchers. Also to require of commanding officer 
at Fort Brooke (Tampa Bay) a party of soldiers to erect cattle pens, issuing 
house, &c. at general camp. To require troops to guard emigrants on 
board transports, at camp, and in assembling. 

2d. The treaty of 9th May, 1832, 'allows a hunting shirt to each warrior, 
woman and child. The shirt will be of no service to the women ; they re- 
quire petticoats and wrappers. 

3d. The special agent, General Thompson, indispensably requires the 
services of an assistant special agent. The appointment of David M. Shef- 
field would be agreeable to General Thompson ; his address Windham, 
Connecticut ; presence at agency needed forthwith. 

Also, as connected with the Indian bureau, arrearages are due to General 
Thompson for services as Indian agent proper, for the last quarter of 1834, 
and for expenses, &c. whilst on duty with Appalachicola Indians. Wages 
and expenses due to Roberts, his interpreter witli said Indians. Nearly one 
year's salary to Cudjoe, a negro, and regular interpreter at the Seminole 
agency. W ages and expenses for Winslett, a white man, interpreter, &c. by 
sanction of the Department, at Fort Brooke, Tampa Bay. These moneys 
are much needed by those to whom they, are due, and I was expressly re- 
quested by General Thompson, upon my departure from Florida, to lay the 
matter directly before you. 

I have the honor to be, &c. 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, Lieut. 

Dish. Agent, Florida Indians. 

Hon. Lfcwis Cass, &c. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. October 14. 1835, 

Sir : You will find, in one of the letters despatched from this office to 
New York, directions in regard to the procuring transportation, which con- 
templated your reporting to me before entering into arrangements. I have 
since read attentively your detailed plan, together with one of a very simi- 
lar character, received from General Thompson, and approve of them as 
exhibiting nothing inconsistent with the spirit of the general instructions of 
the 28tl], February ultimo. I do not, then, consider it to be requisite that 
you should make any report and await instructions regarding the transport- 
ation. I have submitted to the Secretary the projects of contracting in New 
York for vessels: 1st, for a sufficient number to transport three thousand 
Indians at once; and 2d, to transport from fifteen hundred to two thousand, 
calculating upon a second trip. Re is rather inclined, taking into view the 
great uncertainty of the numbers, that the second mode be adopted, but 
leaves the matter to you; and you will be guided by your own views of ex- 
pediency, formed as they must be after the most mature reflection, and likely 
to be modified or confirmed by what you may learn in New York. You 
will, therefore, without delay, advertise for proposals to furnish vessels of a 
proper burden, and forward to this office a copy of the advertisement. 
The time at which the transports should be at the proper point of embark- 
ation may be from the 15th to the 20th January. 

You will, besides advertising for transport vessels, invite proposals for a 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



supply of frocks and blankets for the Seminoles. In accordance with your 
recommendation, there may be procured one-half hunting shirts, made after 
the pattern exhibited in this office, and one-half petticoats and wrappers, or 
for the latter cloth alone. The material may be, if you think it may be ac- 
ceptable, as it certainly will be more comfortable to the Indians, a mixture 
of wool and cotton. The price for each garment must not exceed two dol- 
lars, that being the amount appropriated. 

Of blankets, there will be seven hundred pairs wanted of the sizes and 
weights following : 

300 pairs of 2\ points, weighing about 6 to 6^- pounds; 

250 pairs of 3" points, weighing about 1\ to 8 pounds: 

150 pairs of 4 points, weighing about 8i- to 9 pounds. 

All of the kind called Mackinaw, and of tne very best quality. Packing, 
inspection, and delivery to be included m the bids. 

The above mentioned articles will be paid for, upon the reception here of 
the bills, certificates of inspection, (fee. with your r3ceipts; or, should it be 
necessary for you to leave New York before they can be procured, upon the 
receipts of Colonel Stanton, who will be requested to give his attention to 
the business. 

Respect fu 11 v- &c. 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. S. 

Lieut Joseph W. Harris, 

Disbursing' Agent. Seminoles. Neic York City. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. October 14, 1835. 
Sir : You have been recommended by General Wiley Thompson and 
"Lieutenant J. W. Harris for the appointment of assistant agent in the re- 
moval of the Seminole Indians from Florida. You will consider this your 
appointment, and, if yon accept it, you will proceed without delay to report 
personally to General Thompson at the agency in Florida, who will desig- 
nate your duties. Yonr compensation will be four dollars a day, to com- 
mence on the day of your departure for the south, which you will please 
announce to me. Should you go west with the Indians, you will be allowed 
your actual expenses, and returning to Florida ten cents a mile for trans- 
portation 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. S. 

Mr. D. M. Sheffield, 

Wind am, Connecticut. 



Emigration of Indians,. 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. October 15, 1835. 
Sir : Yours of the 29th August, with a plan of operations, has been at 
hand some days ; and, as I daily awaited the arrival of Lieutenant Harris, 
I did not reply to it. He at length reached this city, having been detained 
on the way by an attack of illness ; remained one day, and took his depart- 
ure for the north, whither I have despatched the instructions, a copy of 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



219 



which is enclosed. You will perceive that, with regard to the number of 
Indians for which to procure transports. Lieutenant Harris has been left to 
act according to his own discretion ; if for fifteen hundred or two thousand, 
then there will be a second trip, and I am inclined to believe it would be 
safer to get but sufficient transportation for two-thirds of the whole esti- 
mated number, as there may be disappointment in assembling them notwith- 
standing all your exertions ; and should you assemble them all promptly, 
the delay will be in some measure compensated by the reduced price at 
which transports may be obtained in consideration of traversing the Gulf 
twice instead of once. 

I conceive you understand fully my views respecting the cattle, as de- 
tailed to you in a letter of 3d of April, and I believe you will be prepared 
to meet any contingency. I do not feel safe in anticipating every possible 
case of difficulty. 

The poneys will, I fear, be a source of vexation, and I wish something 
could be done that would prevent the necessity for sending them west by 
land. I leave the matter with you to act upon as well as you can, under 
the original instructions, and the letter of the 26th August. But, as far as 
you can do so, you will not fail to impress the Indians with the belief that 
the United States will not be bound for any accidents on the way. 

I have already replied to that part of your letter of the 20th July, recom- 
mending that Lieutenant Harris should procure frocks for the Seminoles in 
New York. When that reply was written, 1 believed Lieutenant Harris to 
be on his way northward; but it appears he did not leave Florida till much 
later than I was led to expect. What was written to you, therefore, is, as 
you are now aware, superseded by the instructions more recently given, 
lieutenant Harris recommended the cloth to be issued to the females, to be 
made by them into petticoats and wrappers ; this, it is presumed, he men- 
tioned to you, and that it will meet your approbation. I have left it discre- 
tionary with him ; and also to procure cloth of a mixture of cotton and wool. 

Lieutenant Harris has also been instructed to procure blankets in New 
York. Eight hundred and fifty pairs are now stored at Fort Gibson, and 
seven hundred and fifty pairs more will be forwarded as soon as the proper 
steps of advertising, &c. are gone through with. These last and the frocks 
can be distributed at Rock Row. 

You have been apprised that a detail of officers and soldiers might be had 
upon your requisition on General Clinch. It is possible instructions may 
be obtained for a more extensive detail. And a guard will, ; I am under the 
impression, be allowed to accompany the transports. You shall speedily be 
informed. 

In accordance with your recommendation, to which Lieutenant Harris, 
when here, added his, Mr. David M. Sheffield has been appointed your as- 
sistant agent, and directed to report to you. He has been addressed at 
Windham, Connecticut, and at Tallahassee. As you recommend the asso- 
ciation of some active and intelligent man with Mr. Yancey in the valua- 
tion and sale of cattle, might not Mr. Sheffield be thus employed? \ 

The details laid down by you and Lieutenant Harris agree substantially 
with each other, and accord with the views I have entertained, and mainly 
with the instructions heretofore given. He has, it appears, submitted his 
to you. The time of assemblage, &c. may be according to your notion of 



220 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



expediency. My letter to Lieutenant Harris fixes the time for the fcran; 
ports to be at Tampa Bay from the 15th to the 20th of January. 
Respectfully, (fee. 

GEO. GIBSON, a G. k 

To Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

Sup. Rem. Se??iinoles : Seminole Agency. Florida, 



Emigration of Indiana, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. October 15, 1835. 

Sir : Enclosed you will find a copy of a letter just addressed to General 
Thompson. 

It is proper to say to you that if no further directions are given to you. 
you will have the blankets and frocks shipped to New Orleans, care of 
Lieut. Drane, and marked, besides. "Capt. Jacob Brown, mouth of White 
river." 

The Secretary of War is willing you should engage a physician in New 
York, on the terms verbally stated by you to me when here, to wit : He 
will proceed in one of the transports, and be allowed only his actual ex- 
penses in travelling to the Seminole agency ; his pay according to previous 
instructions to commence when he is put on duty in the active operations. 

On reflection, I am of opinion it will be proper to purchase a portion of 
the provisions that may be wanted on the gulf passage and up the Missis- 
sippi to Rock Row. at New York ; and having again examined your esti- 
mate, approve the quantities therein stated, to wit : 

200 barrels of pork. 
100 « of flour. 
2.000 bushels of corn. 
' 60 " of salt. 
This contemplates, you will perceive, by reference to your estimate, the 
use of the Seminole beef cattle, as suggested by you, and you are left to 
seek at New Orleans as much more as the emigration may require; whilst, 
should any thing occur to disappoint the anticipations formed as to the 
number of emigrants, little or no loss will take place. 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. $. 

Lieut. J. W. Harris, 

Disb. Agt. Seminoles. New York City. 



War Department, 

October 16> IS35. 

Sir : Lieutenant Harris has addressed me a letter on certain subjects 
connected with the removal of the Seminole Indians. These are: 

First. That certain assistance should be furnished to you by the Military 
Department. The Adjutant General will write to Gen. Clinch requesting 
him, as far as circumstances will permit, to comply with your requisitions 
on this point. 

Second. That wrappers should be substituted for hunting shirts for the 
Seminole women. This, Lieut. Harris has been authorized to do, and to 
make the necessary arrangements. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



221 



Third. That David M. Sheffield be selected to aid you in your duties. 
The Commissary General has written to Mr. Sheffield, who is stated to be 
at Windham, Connecticut, authorizing him to report to you, in person, for 
this duty. 

Fourth. The arrangement of certain pecuniary matters connected with 
your accounts, and the payment of persons at your agency. 

On inquiring at the Indian Bureau, I find that you have already been 
written to on these matters, as some explanations were necessary ; and it is 
presumed, on the receipt of your letter, that these will be furnished and the 
funds; may be remitted. 

Respectfully, &c, 

LEW. CASS, 
Secretary of War. 

General Wiley Thompson, 

Sup. Se?n. Removal, Sem. Agency, Florida. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. October 16, 1835. 

Sir: I enclose to you a copy of a letter written yesterday to Lieutenant 
Harris. It contains "matters which it is important you should be acquainted 

with. 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. 8. 

Genera! Wiley Thompson, 

Sup. Sem. Removal, Sem. Agency, Florida. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. October 18, 1835. 
Sir : I have just received yours of the 10th inst. apprising me of your 
having shipped sample frocks to New York, and have instructed Lieut. 
Harris to receive them and pay the freight. 

The calling upon Mr. Richards for services, as interpreter, is approved. 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. S. 

General Wiley Ttompson, 

Sup. Sem. Removal Sem. Agency, Florida. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. October 18, 1835. 
Sir : General Thompson has complied with my directions to him of the 
26th kngask, and shipped from New York a box of Indian frocks, (fee. as 
samples of the size and kind required. The box is consigned to the Quar- 
termaster United States Armv, New York. You will pay the freight. It 
^ probable you will receive the frocks in time to be of service in the pro- 



222 



[ Doc. No. £71. ] 



curing of those you are authorized to contract for ; if not, you need not 
wait their arrival. I send you a copy of General Thompson's letter. 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. S! 

Lieut. J. W. Harris, 

Disbursing Agent, Seminole Indians, N. Y. city. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. Oct. 20, 1835. 

Sir : On the 5th of April last, in anticipation of a removal of the Semi- 
noles from Florida, instructions were addressed to you from this office, that 
you might be prepared for their reception at Rock Row. It subsequently 
happened that, by agreeing to defer the removal until January, 1836, the 
prospect of a general, instead of a partial, removal, was attained. 

The arrangements are such, that all, or a greater part of those Indians, 
must remove at the appointed time. No farther delay will be granted, and 
therefore a great degree of promptitude may fairly be calculated upon. It 
is estimated by the superintendent and disbursing agent, that at least three 
thousand persons will emigrate ; and the intention is to start from Tampa 
Bay about the 20th January, and to reach Rock Row by the 10th_ or 15th 
of February, and immediately proceed for the Seminole country west. 

As soon as you receive this letter it will be proper to advertise for pro- 
posals for both subsistence and transportation ; and, as stated in the letter 
before referred to, you will advertise for the complete ration whilst the In- 
dians are on the route, and for a year afterwards, making one contract or 
two, as you may think expedient. I refer you to the form of wagon roll, 
and the circular transmitted to you heretofore. 

As there will not, for some time, be an emigration of Cherokees, Lieuten- 
ant Van Home can be spared from the Cherokee nation to take charge of 
the Seminoles, and at least to commence the business of issuing subsistence. 
I shall therefore instruct him to report to you at Little Rock, at such time 
as you may appoint between the 1st of January and the 1st of February 
next, when you will communicate to him all that may be required for the 
performance" of his new duty. He should be at Rock Row some days be- 
fore the arrival of the emigrants, and all the arrangements for transportation 
and subsistence properly made. When the emigrants arrive, they should 
be arranged as nearly as possible in accordance with the original muster 
rolls, and marched westward, and subsisted in distinct parties. "Those con- 
ductors that may be required to go through to the new country will do so, 
the remainder will be discharged or sent back by Lieutenant Harris or his 
assistant. 

The expenses of the movement should not commence before the day of 
starting from Rock Row. This arrangement will perhaps be attended with 
some difficulty, because of the disappointments suffered by contractors 
heretofore, in the failure to remove off the Choctaws, Creeks, &c. But you 
may make the assurance of a removal so strong as, without doubt, to get 
those concerned to agree. Indeed I should not object to your making a 
moderate allowance to the persons employed, if there should be no removal. 

The accounts of expenditures for the active operations between Rock 
Row and the new country will be rendered by you. I am desirous that 
the business of the removal should be so conducted as to make the whole 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



223 



matter perfectly intelligible here. The division of the emigrants into par- 
ties, with separate conductor, teams, &c. and the subsistence of those parties 
by separate requisitions entered on separate abstracts, the agreement of the 
issues with the rolls, the entering upon the rolls, the changes on the route. 
&c. All these things are to be carefully attended to, with every other pre- 
caution calculated to promote the public interest. 

Lieutenant Van Home will be prepared to subsist them for one year from 
the date of their arrival in their new country. The contractors will de- 
liver, at two or three points most convenient for the Indians, at which cribs 
may be erected at the public expense. The issues will be made after the 
manner laid down in the instructions to Lieutenant Van Home of the 14th 
January last ; and his relations to you as Seminole disbursing agent, will 
be those laid down in the letter to you of the 17th December, 1832. 

You will communicate from time to time, before the period of departure 
from Florida arrives, with the superintendent and disbursing agent. The 
latter you can also address at New Orleans, and those agents will inform 
you in due time of the number of the emigrants, the time at which they 
may be expected to reach New Orleans and Rock Row, and of any other 
matters calculated to influence you in your preparations. 
^Economy in the disbursements must characterize the whole procedure : 
therefore, not only should the expenses be made to commence the day the 
active operations from Rock Row begin, but those expenses should be merely 
adequate to the actual wants of the service. No agents will be hired ex- 
cept the return of those who accompany the Indians should make it ne- 
cessary. 

All payments of what character soever for expenditures on the route, 
will be made on Lieutenant Van Hornets certificate to the supply, or to the 
performance of the service. No exception will be made to this rule, even 
where other agents draw provision checks on the contractor ; for that officer 
will see that the rolls support such issues, and will certify the abstracts. 

I have directed the purchase of blankets and frocks for the Seminoles at 
New York. It is believed they will reach Rock Row in time to be distri- 
buted there. Of the frocks there will be a full supply, giving one to each 
individual ; but of the blankets but a partial supply, the remainder being 
already stored at Port Gibson. These latter will be distributed as soon 
after the arrival of the Indians as possible. As soon as the purchase is 
completed, the articles will be shipped, via New Orleans, to your address 
at Rock Row. You shall be supplied with a bill of lading and invoice, 
and instructions will be given by which you will be guided in the distri- 
bution. 

I refer you to my letter of the 5th April for the mode of procuring cattle 
for the Seminoles. It is there said that the statement of the cattle would be 
handed to you by Lieutenant Harris, a copy having first been transmitted 
to this office, upon which a remittance of money would be made to you. 

You will forward an estimate, in detail, for the removal of three thousand 
Indians from Rock Row to the new Seminole country, and the funds shall 
be supplied. 

GEO. GIBSON, a G. & 

Capt. Jacob Brown, 

Prin. Dis, Agent, Rem. bid. Little Rock, A. T. 



224 [ Doc. No. 271. ] 

New York, October 21, 1S35. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge your several letters of the 27th 
August, 3d and Sth September, and of the 1st, 14th, 15th and ISth instant, 
together with the respective documents accompanying the same. Also to 
forward the Courier and Enquirer, and the Times, containing my advertise- 
ments for proposals to furnish transportation, subsistence and hidian goods. 

I have only been waiting the accomplishment of sundry preliminary 
arrangements, to secure the successful fulfilment of my duties here, to ad- 
dress the Department. How far my labors will be crowned with so happy 
a result, is more than I can now divine ; but I shall not conceal from you 
my apprehensions of embarrassment in the closing of the contracts for 
which I have invited bids. A disposition to extortion and to combination ; 
the withdrawal of the lower in favor of the higher bids : and the rejection 
of contracts on the eve of signature, I learn from excellent authority and 
my own present observation, are the obstacles most likely to oppose me in 
the commercial world of this busy city. I advise you of this in prudence 
only, and with the hope that all things may go on smoothly. But that I 
may be prepared, at the worst, with suitable instructions from yourself to 
meet such a contingency: armed with discretionary power to proceed 
either at once, without loss of time, into the open market here, and charter 
or purchase, wherever I shall find the vessels, provisions and goods de- 
sired, or to transfer my market to New Orleans, would, I think, secure the 
service from the evil results likely to grow out of the machinations of 
crafty and avaricious men. 

You will perceive, by reference to the newspapers forwarded, that I ad- 
vertise for fourteen hundred hunting shirts, and for thirteen thousand 
yards of plaided woolseys, (the former to be made of the like kind of wooi- 
sey) ; and this material for comfort and economy I believe will be found to 
answer our purposes. The 13,000 yards of woolsey is a liberal estimate 
for petticoats and wrappers. The box of patterns, shipped by General 
Thompson, has not yet arrived. Should they in season, I shall be able to 
estimate more correctly, and shall contract for the amount only required, 
be it more or less than that advertised for. keeping constantly in view the 
price authorized by the act of appropriation. 

I have assumed eighteen hundred Indians as the number most favorable 
to the interests of service to make arrangements for the transportation of at 
one time. I am satisfied that I can make ready provision for the removal 
of an excess of that number, should there be a general and prompt assem- 
blage of emigrants, and we ought to collect at least that number. 

I have advertised for provisions, agreeably to your instructions of the 
15th instant, excepting for corn, which is now held at $1 12 per bushel, 
and is likely to rise. This and the balance of subsistence required may be 
got at New Orleans, and such portion as shall be needed at Tampa Bay, 
shipped there bv some one of the St. Marks traders, at a saving of from 
8600 to 81,000,'probably. 

The blankets, as described in your letter of the 14th, I have in vain 
searched for throughout the market. Good Mackinaw blankets, of the fol- 
lowing patterns, are the best for sale, viz : 
4 points, none to be had. 
3^ do weighing from 8^ to pounds. 
3" do do do 7 J to 81 do. 

2\ do do do 5{ to 6. large. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



225 



Shall I receive such as these, should those of the pattern given by you 
not be bid for 1 

In your letter of the 15th instant, you have directed me to forward the 
" blankets and frocks, through Lieut. Drane to Capt. J. Brown, mouth of 
White river." It was the advice of the superintendent, Gen. Thompson* 
that in consequence of the naked and comfortless state of a large portion 
of the Seminoles, that their frocks, shirts, wrappers and petticoats, and I do 
not know but what the blankets also should be shipped on board of the 
transports at New York, to be distributed to the Indians immediately after 
embarkation at Tampa Bay ; and this advice I think should be followed. 

I have also the honor to ask whether upon the accomplishment of my 
duties in this city, I shall proceed direct to New Orleans, to make arrange- 
ments as reeom nended in my communication to Gen. Thompson, of the 
23d August last, a copy of which is with you, for supplying river trans- 
portation, &c. 

Communications from the Department will find me in this city until the 
7th proximo; and should I proceed direct from this to New Orleans, at the 
latter place until the 1st of December, I should be at the Seminole agency 
at furthest by the 20th of December, and hope to be there by the 15th of 
that month. 

I have the honor, &c. 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, Lieut. 

l)is. Agt. Florida Indians. 

Brig. Gen. Geo. Gibson, 

Commissary General, fyz. 



War Department, Oct. 22, 1835. 
Sir: Your letter of the 8th instant, to the Adjutant General, has been 
laid before me. 

I am well aware of the disagreeable nature of the duties entrusted to 
you ; but I. rely with confidence upon a faithful and judicious execution 
of them. It is very desirable to accomplish the object of removing the 
Seminole Indians without the application of actual force, and cannot but 
hope that such will be the result. You will of course proceed to embark 
and remove those first who are willing to go, postponing, any decisive 
course with relation to the refractory ones till the others have set out. My 
impression is, that they will then all peaceably follow. Should they not 
however do so, agreeably to those treaty stipulations and arrangements 
they have entered intb with you, you will proceed to carry into effect your 
instructions. All proper remonstrances and representations, however, should 
be previously made. It is out of the question under any circumstances to 
leave a lawless banditti, as they would then be, if not removed, to form the 
association, which you apprehend with the negroes, and involve the fron- 
tier in blood. 

I have submitted to the President your proposition for the employment 
of a mounted military force ; but there is under existing circumstances no 
authority for this measure. 

There is no appropriation authorizing it; nor can the case yet be 
brought within the constitutional power of the President to call into service 
an additional force for the defence of the country. A few days since, on 
15 



226 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



the representations of Lieut. Harris, two additional companies were placed 
at your disposal, and I have this day directed the Adjutant General to put 
two more companies under your orders. This will give you a fbrce f as 1 
understand, from the Adjutant General, of fourteen companies, making an 
aggregate of 700. Tins force, it appears to me, must be sufficient for all 
the purposes required. 

The President is disposed to direct a revenue cutter to aid your opera- 
tions, if one can be spared for that purpose. He will consult with the 
Secretary of the Treasury, and the result, it favorable, will be communi- 
cated to you. 

Respectfully, &c. 

LEWIS CASS, 

Secretary of War, 

Erev. Brig. Gen. D. L. Clinch, 

United States Army, Fort King, Florida. 



War Depart mfkt, October 28, 1635. 

Sir: T have just received your letter of the 21st ultimo. On the most 
mature consideration, I cannot agree to the suggestion you make on the 
subject of the payments of influential Indians, in order to procure their co- 
operation in the removal of their people. W T ere the question an open one, 
there are still no funds at the disposition of this Department which could, 
properly be applied to this object. But the policy is a doubtful one, proba- 
bly worse, and in a moral point of view it is liable to strong objections. So 
far as any of the Indians are competent to aid you in the performance of 
those duties for which assistance must be employed, it is certainly proper 
to give them th i preference. This is the uniform practice, and is confirm- 
ed by the pr neiples of the 9th section of the act of June 30, 1834. Such 
a proceeding operates as an encouragement to the Indians to improve them- 
selves and to become qualified to instruct their triles. If, therefore, in the 
business of removal, you find any of the Seminole Indians sufficiently 
faith Jul and intelligent to be useful to you, and if their services are required, 
agreeably to the instructions you have received, you are at liberty to 
employ them instead of white persons. But further than this I deem it im- 
proper to go. I trust that by proper representations you will be able to 
convince the Seminoles of the necessity of their faithfully executing the 
treaty they have formed ; and for this purpose I have to request that no 
exertions may be spared. Should they, however, utterly decline compli- 
ance, the course indicated in my letter of October 22, to General Clinch, 
must be pursued. 

I see no objection to your recommendation that the annuities maybe 
paid when the Indians are collected for embarkation. The original instruc- 
tions left to yourself and Lieutenant Harris the determination of the time 
and place of payment, and he will be again written to on the sulject. 

In looking at the treaty I do not see that there is any authority for issu- 
ing the blankets and frocks before the Indians arrive in their new country. 
The disbursing agent will, however, have them ready, and .they can be 
shown to the Indians, in order that they may le satisfied they will receive 
them, agreeably to the assurances which have been given. 

Your explanation respecting the interview held by you with the chiefs, 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 227 

and the course taken in relation to submitting to them the question of 
removal, appears to me to be satisfactory. 

I have directed that a draft lor the sum of $15,400, payable to the Semi- 
noles by the second article of the treaty of 1832, should be remitted to 
Lieutenant Harris. The draft will be upon New Orleans where he will be 
able to procure the specie, and take it with him in order to make the pay- 
ments stipulated by the treaty. 

Respectfully, &c. 

LEWIS CASS, Secretary of War, 

Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

Sup. Sem. Rem. Sem. Agency, Florida. 

P. S. Major Phagan having filed here the proper receipt of Abraham for 
his pay as interpreter, and received credit for the amount, it would be un- 
safe and inconsistent with the rules of the Department to set aside the 
receipt, and pay the claim now presented. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. October 31, 1835. 

Sir: Enclosed you will find a copy of alettei of instructions, in relation 
to the Seminole removal, addressed from this office to Captain Brown on the 
20th instant; and also a copy of a letter of this day addressed to Lieuten- 
ant Harris, at New York. You will find enclosed a copy of a letter this 
day addressed to Captain Brown. 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEORGE GIBSON, C. G. S, 

Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

Sup. Sem. Rem. Sem. Agency, Flor. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. Oct. 31, 1835. 

Sir: In the letter of instructions, dated the 20th instant, for the removal 
of the Seminoles after they reach Rock Row, you were informed that the 
distribution of blankets, &c. would be made at that place. This will not 
be so ; it has been deemed expedient to order their distribution at Tampa 
Bay. 

GEORGE GIBSON, C. G. S. 

Capt. Jacob Brown, 

Principal Dist. Agt. Little Rock, A. T. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. October 31, 1835, 

Sir: Your letter of the 21st instant was not received until yesterday. 
The postmark of the envelope was not observed, but it is probable the de- 
lay took place from your keeping the communication on hand several days, 



228 v 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



on account of the importance of its topics and the necessity of carefully 
digesting them. The newspapers which you say you have forwarded have 
not come to hand. Please to forward other copies. 

it is apprehended on your part that the attempt to make contracts for 
transportation, provisions and goods, will lead to extortion and imposition ; 
and you therefore wish to be empowered to go into the open market for the 
procuring of these articles. So far as regards the two first, there is no 
objection to your doing so ; but the last must, in compliance with the condi- 
tions of the 13th section of the act of Congress entitled " An act to provide for 
the organization of the Department of Indian affairs," approved 3Uth June, 
1834, be purchased "upon proposals to be received, to be based on notices pre- 
viously to be given." 

The steps you propose to take with regard to the corn, are approved, 
You state that you can find no such blankets as those described in mine of 
the 4th instant, but that the blankets you can procure aie of 3|, 3 and 2|- 
points, there being no four points. On comparing the weights of these 
blankets, 1 find the difference to be considerable only in the 2-h points, and 
these of 5-J and 6 pounds weight, would, I suspect, be sufficiently heavy. 
You are therefore authorized to procure them of the sizes above named, 
and of the weights mentioned by you, to wit : 

3| points from 8-J- to pounds. 
3 " 7% to £| « 

%\ » 3j to 6 " ■ 

The letter of the loth instant directed, in case no further instructions 
were given to you, to have the blankets and frocks transported to New Or- 
leans tor the purpose of being sent to the mouth of White river, as it w^as 
comtemplated to have them distributed at Rock Row. But on reconsider- 
ing the matter it would appear to be preferable that the distribution during 
tire inclement season at which the removal will take place should be made 
in Florida. You will ship them on board one of the transports for Tampa 
Bay. Full instructions for the distribution shall be transmitted to General 
^Thompson. 

You will consider yourself fully authorized to procure what part of the 
transportation and provisions you may, upon a full view of the circum- 
stances in which you are placed, and taking carefully into consideration the 
prospects of success at New Orleans, deem proper; and on leaviag New 
York you will proceed direct to New Orleans, with the purpose tiiere to 
complete the requisite preparations. 

GEORGE GIBSON, C. G. S. 

Lieut. S. W, Harris, 

Dist. Agt. <Seminole$, New York City. 



War Department, 

October 31, 1835, 

•Sir: Enclosed I transmit a copy of a letter from the Secretary of the 
Navy, by which you will perceive that the necessary instructions have been 
given to the commanding officer of Pensacola, to direct one of the vessels 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



229 



under his command to co-operate with you agreeably to your views and 
wishes. You will communicate with the officer who may command her.. 
It was found, on conversing with the Secretary of the Treasury and the 
Secretary of the Navy, that a vessel of a proper class could be furnished* 
by the latter more conveniently than a revenue cutter could by the former. 

Respect hilly, &c, 

LEWIS CASS, 

Secretary of War. 

Brevet Brig. Gen. D. L. Clinch, 

U. S. Army, Fort King, Florida. 

i 

Emigration of Indians. 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. November 2, 1835. 
Sir : Your letters of 21st September have been received two or three days, 
f.n respect to the pansys and hogs you must act as well as you can under the 
powers already conferred upon you. I regret to think that a sale of them 
would result in a seri >us loss to the Indians, but you are already apprised 
that the United States cannot guaranty their appraised value, or, in fact, do 
more than facilitate the disposing of them unless, as regards the poneys, the 
Indian? choose to have them sent by land. 

You are, I suppose, fully satisfied ere this on the score of an assistant 
agent. Mr. Sheffield has been appointed, and is, most probably, on hisr 
way south. It is gratifying to hear that the course of the other agent is 
such as now to meet your approbation. 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEORGE GIBSON, C. G. M 

Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

Sup. Sem. Removal, Seminole Agency, Florida. 



Tallahassee, November 2, 1835. 
Sir: Your favor of the 14th October has come to hand, appointing me 
assistant agent in the removal of the Seminole Indians from Florida. I 
accept the appointment cheerfully, and am making arrangements to leave 
here for the agency as early as possible, which will be in the course of a 
few days. 1 will advise you of the time of my departure. 
I have the honor to be, 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

D. M. SHEFFIELD. 

To George Gibson, Esq. 



New York, November 2, 1835. 
Sir: I have the honor to acdnowledge the receipt of yours of the 31st 
ultimo, by this morning's mail. I write in haste to urge that, if practicable. 



230 



f Doc. No. 271. ] 



I may be advised by the return mail whether the United States soldiers 
are to accompany the Florida emigration as guards? 

This is an important corisi^eraiion with those who propose to contract 
for transportation as well as at ihe insurance offices, and should be definitely 
answered before the contract is closed. 

I have the honor to be, &c. 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, Lieut. 

Dis. Agent Florida Indians. 

Com. Gen. Sub. U. S. Army. 



City of New York, November 4. 1836. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge your two letters of the 2d inst* 
and to return to ycu enclosed with this the accounts of Colonel Yancey and 
the letter from Mr. Rogers covered with one of them. 

Colonel Yancey was last paid to include the 16th July, Wishing to 
bring his accounts within the regular quarter, I directed the next bills to be 
made out for services rendered lor the balance of the third quarter. This 
entitled him to pay for seventy-six days, the one-half of which is thirty- 
eight days. Hereafter his accounts will be made out quarterly. 

As for vouchers for drayage of corn, by refering to bill of purchase of 
that article you will see it was regularly charged as an item therein and 
paid for, which I considered the proper way of rendering the account, as it 
forms a portion of the disbursement actually made on account of subsistence. 
Should, upon further consideration, a separate voucher for drayage be re- 
quired by you. it can be obtained by addressing aline to the merchant who 
furnished the corn at Baltimore. 

I would respectfully suggest the propriety of my proceeding at once into 
the open market on my arrival at New Orleans, and contracting for ti appor- 
tion and provisions there without the preliminaries of advertisement, &c„ 
I shall be unable to leave this city at best until Saturday afternoon, the 
Tth instant. 

Most respectfullv, (fee. 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, Lieut. . 

Dis. Agent Florida Indians. 

Com. Gen. Sue. U. 8. Army. 



Emigration of Indians t 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. November 4, 1835. 
Sir : Your letter of the 2d inst. is received, and in reply I have to state 
that the Adjutant General has been instructed to order a detail a non-com- 
missioned officer and six or eight men to accompany each transport inde- 
pendent of conductors, (fee. 

GEORGE GIBSON, C. G. S. 

Lieut. J. W. Harris, 

Dis, Ag't Sentinoles, New York. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



231 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen, Sub. November 9. 1835, 

Sir: Yours of the 4th and 6th instants are at hand. The latter covering" 
estimate and accompanied by three patterns of cloth for Seminole frocks. &c. 

With regard to procuring transportation and provisions at New York or 
New Orleans, it seams to me that my letter of the 31st October, the receipt 
of which you have not acknowledged, is quite satisfactory. You are in 
fact authorized to do as may seem most conducive to the public interest. 

Th^re is no objection to your taking from Messrs Suydam and Jackson 
one hundred and twenty-five pairs of three points to make up the deficiency 
of two and a half points blankets. 

Your estimate proposes two quantities of cloth for the wrappers and pet- 
ticoats : the larger will overrun the stipulated price of two dollars if the 
cloth be of the best quality. But inasmuch as there will not be so many 
emigrants as the estimate for the frocks, &c. contemplated, there will be a 
sufficiency of money to meet the extra cost. You will, therefore, procure 
the cbth in accordance with the larger proposition. 

The samples of domestics marked No. 2 and 3 will not answer. 

The answc r you have given to the inquiries whether compensation 
would be made for losses by the stranding of transports is agreeable to re- 
gulations. 

The blankets and other goods will, as at first provided for, be shipped 
via New Orleans, to Captain Brown at mouth of White river. They cannot 
be distribuied in Florida. Independently of other objections fehey will ar- 
rive too late. 

GEORGE GIBSON, C. G. S, 

Lieut. J. W. Harris, 

Dis. Agent Sem. New York City, 



Seminole Agency, November 10, 1835. 

Sir: Your letter of the 10th of September relative to the compensation 
of Mr. Winslet as interpreter, has been received, from which I perceive that 
he is considered as having been employed by me, to aid in the emigration of 
these Indians. If such had been my understanding of the subject, I should 
certainly have reported the fact to the office of Oommissary General of 
Subsistence, pro mptly, as it would h ive been my duty to have done. 1 have, 
hereto ore, considered him as interpreter to the military post at Tampa, em- 
ployed for the express purpose of accompanying commands sent from that 
post, to scour an extensive tract of wild country, for the purpose of pre- 
venting the Indians wandering beyond their boundary in that direction. 
The Secretary has, in his decision, perhaps very properly, connected his 
service with the emigration, as the service rendered by him necessarily 
tended directly to aid the emigration. Your instructions relative to the 
-subject shall, as far as practicable, be strictly pursued ; but I must apprise 
you that the post at Tampa, where Mr. Winslet is employed, is more than 
one hundred miles from my point of location; and that it will, therefore, 
be out of my power to certify to the fact of his having rendered services; 
the requisite certificate can, no doubt, be given by Major Zant inger, to 
whose command Mr. Winslet has been, and is subject. Pemit me to sug- 
gest that to make Mr. Winslefs services, as interpreter, efficient it was indis^ 



232 [ Doc. No. 271. ] 

pensable for him to keep a horse ready at a moment's warning to attend 
commands in their excursions, to restrain the Indians within their limits, 
which I am informed he has constantly done. TV hat then shall be the rule 
by which to determine the portion of time for which he shall le allowed 
the highest rate of compensation ? 

Please afford me the aid of your instructions upon the subject. 
Very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON, 

tSupt. Se?n,. Removal, 

Major J, H. Hook, 

Acting Com, Gen. Sub. 



Little Rock, November 12, 1335. 
Sir: The contractor for supplying the Seminole Indians in their new 
country. John G. Jouett, having left the country, and no probability of his 
returning, charged as he is with the crime of murder, his securities, 
Lorenzo N. Clark and L. C, Sadler, are willing to fulfil the contract, pro- 
vided the receipts for the delivery of the rations can be given in their 
names, or that the fulfilment of the contract can be so secured to them, as 
will enable them to get the pay from Government without delay, for the de- 
liveries made under the terms and stipulations of the contract. 

I have informed them that a course satisfactory in that respect would be 
adopted, and have directed them to be prepared to fulfil the contract. I 
have, therefore, to request to be informed what course will be the most ac- 
ceptable to the Department, in relation to the delivery under this eontj aet r 
by the sureties, so that no difficulties or disappointments may arise in their 
obtaining pay for furnishing the subsistence. 

From the circumstances above stated it will be impossible for them to= 
obtain a transfer of the contract. 

I have the honor to be, 

Your most obedient servant, 

J. BROWN, Copt. U. S. Army, 
Principal Agent Indian Removal. 

Gen. Georo$ Giesox, 

* Com Gen. Sab. Washington. D, C. 



Fort King, November 13, 1835. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the leceipt of your letter of 
the 22d ultimo. I consider it unnecessary to repeat what I have so fully 
expressed relative to the removal of the Indians. Your last communica- 
tion will, however, cause rre to change a part of my plan. It was my in- 
tention to let things remain quiet until the friendly Indians had assembled 
here, then to demand the murderers of Dalton, and if they were not promptly 
given up, to strike at a large body of the Miccasukey tribe, now assembled 
for the protection of the murderers, and headed by two or three of the old 
red sticks, and if possible take the murderers and headmen: turn the first 
over to the civil authority, and keep the latter as hostages, until we reac 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



233 



Tampa, and put them on board the transport. If we permit this body of 
unfriendly indians, assembled with the avowed purpose of protecting a 
party of murderers, to remain where they are, it will, I fear, have a very 
bad effect on the minds of the timid and wavering. The first duty of a 
soldier, however, is to obey, and your orders and instructions shall Le car- 
ried out, as far as my humble abilities, and the means placed at my disposal^ 
Will enable me to do so. 

I am, with very high respect, 

Your most obedient, 

D. L. CLINCH, 
Brevet Brig. Gen. U. S. Army. 

The Hon. Lewis Cass, Sec. of War. 



Camden, Penn. Nov. 13, 1835. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge your letters of the 31st ultimo, 
and of the 9th instant ; also to enclose with this, contracts and bonds for 
furnishing transports, and provisions, and goods for Indians, together, with 
the original bids, and articles of agreement with a physician to accompany 
the emigrants. 

Your ins; ructions relating to blankets have been complied with. In my 
estimate for woolseys I labored under an error but recently discovered. 
The wrapper is not the garment of cloak fashion, described in one of my 
late letters to you, but the loose spencer spoken of in my last. And as this 
will enable the Department both to answer the expectation of the Indians, 
and to fall within the original appropriation of two dollars per garment, I 
have adopted the aggregate of the second paragraph of the estimate accom- 
panying that letter for the amount to be contracted for. The patterns said 
to have been forwarded by General Thompson, have not been heard from, 
I consequently caused patterns of three sizes of shirts to be made of the 
quality both of the material, borders and trimmings, and of the fashion 
required ; have sealed them, as also the pattern blankets and woolseys, and 
have left them, except the former, which are necessarily at present in the 
hands of the tailor, with Colonel Staunton, as the standards of inspection 
hereafter. I had much trouble in finding a suitable style of goods for the 
Indian garments, and that which I have chosen I think will be acceptable to 
them. It is infinitely better in quality than any thing they ever had before, 
is bright and showy in its colors, is durable and comfortable. Their taste, 
too, has been consulted in the borders and trimmings. Having no pat- 
terns for the petticoats and wrappers, I have left the article in piece to be 
made up by the females. It is to be regretted. I think, that their fine gar- 
ments cannot be worn when they seem to be most needed. I mean in the 
cold season, whilst upon their journey. Many of these people, I have said 
before, are quite naked, and if the obstacles which are opposed to the- dis- 
tribution of the frocks and woolseys are not insurmountable, I would still 
urge the sending of them to Tampa bay. It will not only contribute 
greatly to their comfort, but will produce, I think, a desirable effect upon 
the conduct of the Indians. I do not think the probable lateness of their 
arrival an objection. The goods should hot be distributed until the emi- 
grants are embarked, and after that time the issues may be speedily and cor- 
rectly made upon the muster roil. I do not even see objections to the dis- 
tribution of, the blankets. There will be quite enough v\ them for those 
who come in voluntarily, the others may wait for them. Should you still, 



234 [ Doc. No. 271. ] 

however, determine to forward the goods direct, via New Orleans to Rock 
Row for distribution. I would urge that the contractors be advised thereof, 
and be allowed a more distant day for delivery. It is exceedingly difficult 
just now to find workmen in New York to make up the shuts in time. 
Should they be shipped for New Orleans by the 25th December, they will 
be at Rock Row in time, I think. And the frank, friendly, and business-like 
manner in which this house has met all my calls upon them, entitles them 
to every honest indulgence. The contract for provisions, seeing that th<_-y are 
to be delivered at Tampa bay, at present rates of the provision market, is a 
very good one. I shall buy such as I may want, hereafter, in the open 
market at New Orleans. 

The transports I have not obtained on such good terms as I had antici- 
pated; yet on mature consideration I think them reasonable enough. Ves- 
sels of the class required, are of much less length of hold and breadth of 
beam than I believed them to be. They are in considerable requisition ; 
are obliged to be at large outlays, and the compensation agreed upon is not 
more than a fair equivalent for the service, even should all things go 
smoothly with the contractor. I have, since my last, further investigated 
the merits of the New Orleans and Mobile markets, and have found them 
rather unpromising. Two or three persons whose vessels are now i;i those 
ports, wmose intention it is to winter them in the gulf, and who, consequently, 
can afford to perform the service required, upon as low terms as any body, 
have made offers at the rate of $10 and $12 per head, generally proposing 
to carry double the number in one of these small craft* than I have 
thought prudent to allow. One of them offered to carry three hundred in- 
dividuals in his little schooner, a craft capable, perhaps, of carrying one 
hundred and twenty, and thought he might possibly afford it at $10 per 
head for that number. Upon the whole, considering the superior advan- 
tages accruinsf to service from the emplovment of one person, or company, 
over the div'ded interest of vessels chartered indiscriminately, having dis- 
couraging advices of the prospect of success at the south on better terms, 
and anticipating, if any thing, a change for the worse, in consequence of 
the recent rise of the western rivers rending the freight market mere 
brisk, and finding a person who had associated with himself several respon- 
sible ship owners, both desirous and capable of taking the contracts for sub- 
sistence as well as that for transportation, the latter on conditions partially 
of the terms concluded in the former, and thinking the opportunity of 
having the business performed in a business-like and satisfactory manner, bet- 
ter than I would be likely to find elsewhere in the limited time at my disposal, 
I gave him the contract. 

1 have also secured the services of an intelligent and hig-hly recommended 
3'oung gentleman, to accompany the Indians as attendant physician. 1 
closed my business at New York at three, and left in the mail at four P. M. 
We have been detained here a short time ; in a few hours I shall be on my 
road ao-ain for New Orleans. I hope to be able to leave that city for Fort 
King by the 5th or 6th of December at furthest. I have also the honor to 
acknowledge the warrant of Secretary of Treasury for §15,400, payable 
at New Orleans, and to request that all further remittances be made upon 
New York. I am. sir, with very great respect. &c. 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, 
Lieut. Sub. Agent, Florida Indians. 

To Com. Gen. Subsistence, 

United States Army. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



235 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. Nov. 13, 1835. 
Sir: Enclosed you will find a voucher of Joel Yancey for thirty eight 
day's service. Your requisition is not written on the back of this voucher, 
nor did it accompany Mr. Roger's letter in which the duplicates were for- 
warded. You will please immediately to forward a requisition according 
to form. 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEORGE GIBSON, C. G. JS. 

Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

Sap. Seminole Removal, Seminole Agency, Florida. 



Tallahassee, Nov. 17, 1835. 
Sir : I shall leave here to-morrow morning for the Seminole agency, to 
report myself to Gen. Wiley Thompson, as you have advised, and apprise 
you of it, according to promise in my letter of the 2d instant. I should 
have left here before, but I had some business in the superior court, (which 
is in now in session.) which I was obliged to attend to, previous to my de- 
parture. 

I have the honor be, 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

I). M. SHEFFIELD. 

Gen. George Gibson, C. G. S. 



Little Rock, November 18, 1835. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communica* 
tion, dated the 20th and 24th ultimo ; the former covering copy of an order 
for Lieut. Van Horn, to report to me at this place, &c. 

The letter addressed to me, under date of the 6th of September last, was 
received on the 30th following, and I cannot find that its receipt has been 
acknowledged. In reference thereto, however, I would here remark, that 
the investigation required, by those instructions, in relation to the sinking 
of the Creek and Quapaw presents, cannot be gone into, tor some months 
to come, as the master of the boat in which they were sunk, P. Fennguit, 
and who is one of the owi ers, is absent from this section of the country, 
and will not return for some months, as above stated. I have furnished 
him with a copy statement of what is required, and have urged him to be 
prepared with the necessary evidence, at as early a period as possible. 

I have received from the supenntendjnt of the removal of the Seminole 
Indians, a copy of his general plan of operations adopted and to be observed 
in their removal, and I shall most cheerfully co operate and do every thing 
in my power to carry the same into effect : and it shall also be my aim to 
carry into effect, most fully, your instructions m relation to the emigration 
of that tribe of Indians. You probably have forgotten that there is already 
a contract for subsisting the Seminoles after they reach their new country, 
to the 31st December, 1836 ; and I have notified the sureties for that con- 
tract (the principal, J. G. Jouett, having left the country), to be prepared to 



23G 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



make issues whenever called upon, and in quantities as shall be required 
under the stipulations of said contract. I therefore deem it proper to delay 
making proposals for a contract to furnish the emigrants in their new coun- 
try, until I hear further from you on that subject. It is my wish that the 
present contract may stand, as I think it reasonably low. The persons 
also who are to nil it are responsible and persevering men, and from the 
notice they have received from me, are making arrangements to carry the 
same into execution. I shall immediately issue proposals for contracts to 
supply the stands on the route, from Rock Row to the new Seminole coun- 
try, with subsistence and forage, and also for wagons and teams to carry 
through their baggage. 

You refer me to the form of a wagon roll, to be observed in the employ- 
ment of teams, as having been forwarded: none has ever been received at 
this office. In the letter of the 5th of April last, (with which the circular 
of the 28th December was received) I am referred to the form of wagon 
roll ; the last clause of the paragraph in relation to wagons and teams, in the 
above circular, says that forms will be supplied ; none, however, as above 
stated, have been received. Among other information in the letter of the 
20th ult. and in relation to the purchase of blankets and frocks for the 
Seminoles, it is observed, that " as soon as the purchase is completed, &c. 
the articles will be shipped via New Orleans, to your (my) address, at Rock 
Row." If it is not too late, on the receipt of this, allow me to suggest that 
the destination of that property be changed to this place, Little Rock, unless 
it is intended that the property shall be at New Orleans on or before the 
tirh* the Seminoles reach there, so that it may be sent in the steam-boats 
that convey them to Rock Row. But, should the property arrive at New 
Orleans after the Indians have passed there, it ought to come to this place, 
instead of Rock Row. There are no settlements at Rock Row, nor none in 
its vicinity where public property ought to be left. Hence, should it reach 
there before the arrival of the Indians, or after they have left, there would 
be no one to receive it, and it might be left, as it probably would be, at some 
point difficult not only to find, but to get at, by which much delay in get- 
ting the property to destination might be incurred. 

It is to be regretted that the movement of the Seminoles had not been 
fixed at a more genial season of the year : to be marching through this sec- 
tion of the country, at midwinter, is very severe upon half- clad Indians ; 
and February is the most severe of our winter months. In March, all the 
streams are high, and roads almost impassable: a few loaded wagons and 
teams breaks them up, and renders them, in places, a complete bog. 

Besides, at that season of the year, team oxen and horses are generally 
poor; the season for preparing for crops is at hand, and people are loth to 
engage their teams in any employment that takes them far from their homes, 
and where they must necessarily be greatly exposed to wet and cold. Under 
these circumstance^, inducements, with strong assurances, must be held 
out, otherwise but few teams will be likely to engage for the trip. Another 
difficulty is, that there are but few teams in the section of country where 
the emigrants will land. Within the circle of fifty miles from Rock Row, 
I am confident that twenty teams suitable for the service, cannot be found. 
There is no immediate competition, and hence owners of teams will have 
their own price, or they will not take employment. I have ample lime, 
however, and shall, in the execution of this duty, as hitherto, observe the 
greatest possible economy. I have to acknowledge the receipt of your 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



237 



letter, dated the 9th October. It came to hand on the 2d inst. I have 
been under the impression that the monthly statements of let.ers received 
and written, as called for by the addition to circular of July 28, made on 
the l>t ult. was intended to supersede the cnrrent acknowledgment of letters 
as hitherto observed. 

I have the honor to be, 

Very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 

J. BROWN, Capt. U. S. A. 

Pr. Dis. Agt. Ltd. Removal. 

General Geo. Gibson, 

Com. Gen. Sub. Washington, D. C. 



Little Rock, November 25, 1835. 

Sir : I enclose herewith special estimate of funds to defray the expenses 
of removal and subsistence of the Seminole tribe of Indians, from Rock 
Row to their new country, west. 

I have also forwarded to your address, by this mail, a paper containing 
my advertisement for subsistence and teams, that will be wanted to subsist 
and remove those Indians on the route of emigration as therein designated. 

The stands placed at K. Potts and at Scott's" six mile creek, are not noted 
on the map I forwarded some time since ; and that their location may be 
known, have to state that the stand at Potts's, is about half a mile from Lo- 
gan's, on the road leading to Old D wight. The road by this stand in- 
tersects the ^military read about three miles from " Logan's." The distance 
is not increased by passing that place, and contiguous thereto is good water 
and ground for encamping, " Scott's," at six mile creek. This creek is not 
laid down on the map ; its position on the route is distant from Short moun- 
tian, westward, seven miles. 

There is also an error of distances "which I wish corrected. From 
Choctaw agency to Sans Boinee, Coffees crossing, is, from the best infor- 
mation I can get, not less than forty miles ; and from thence to the cross- 
ings of the Canadian, near the north fork, thirty miles. These distances 
are put down on the map, twenty miles each ; less thirty miles, on that 
section of the route, than it should be. 

I have the honor to be, 
Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

J. BROWN, Capt. U. 8. J. 
Pr. Dis. Jlgt. Ind. Removal, 

General Geo. Gibson, 

Com. Gen. Sub. Washington. 



June 22, 1835. 

Sir: There were several of my neighbors out in the woods the other 
day, and were fired on by the Indians, and three of them badly wounded, 
for which they demand satisfaction of you, you being the proper person; 
and if they can get no other satisfaction, they are determined to take it on 
them, if they don't keep on their own side of the boundary line. We are 



238 F Dec. No. 271. ] 



^oing to start on a scout on the 25th ins t. to cruise on the line, and if we 
find any that refuse to be taken, we shall deal with them as they deserve. 
My company consists of one hundred men, and there are about the same 
number from the upper county and elsewhere, that volunteer their services 
for to take the route. 

Please to send me an answer, and some advice on the subject. 

Yours, in haste, 

S. V. WALKER. 



Seminole Agency, June 23, 1835. 
Str : Your letter of yesterday's date, was handed to me this evening, by 
Mr. Warren. I regret the occurrence of the circumstance referred to by 
you, of which I heard before the arrival of your express. I have made a 
demand on the nation for the Indians who committed the outrage. To- 
morrow the chiefs are to assemble here for the purpose of ordering the de- 
livery of the depredators over to the civil authorities. I have no doubt they 
will be given up. I am much pleased to learn that you, with your com- 
pany, and a company from an adjoining county, intend to scour the coun- 
try on the Indian border in the direction you indicated, as I have no doubt 
it will have a salutary effect upon the Miccasnkey Indians, who are the most 
troublesome of any belonging to the nation, especially if the operation 
should be directed by prudence and proper discretion, as I trust it will. 
You are aware of the delicate character of our relations with these people, 
and that all causeless irritation should be avoided. The outrage com- 
plained of is, in all, calculated to excite indignation and alarm; but I do not 
consider it as evidence of a settled purpose of any considerable portion of 
these people to commit hostilities ; and 1 trust that the result of the ensuing 
three or four days will evince the correctness of my opinion. I have to re- 
quest, therefore, that you will not, during your excursion, cross the Indian 
boundary, nor permit any act to be done which would tend to irritate the 
Indians, that can be reasonably avoided. If you can extend your search 
to and beyond the Suwaney river, it will enable you to accomplish the ob- 
ject of driving the Indians witkin their boundary. Should you fall 
in with any, try to get possession of them without bloodshed ; take their 
guns and packs from them, and I think it will have a good effect on them, 
to lodge them in jail. The idea of a jail carries terror to the Indian's 
mind. 

Be so good as to keep a strict register of the guns, &c. that maybe taken, 
so that they may be turned over to this office, and eventually returned to 
their owners. 

Very respectfully, 

Your humble servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Indian Agent. 

To Captain S. V. Walker. 



Seminole Agency, July 5, 1835. 
Sir : I sent an express some days ago, to request the attendance of such of 
the citizens, who were engaged in the unfortunate affair, which recently 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



occurred in your county, with a small party of Indians, (as could come to 
this place,) to do so, for the purpose of making an examination of the In- 
dian prisoners, seven of whom are in custody, with a view to determine 
whether it will be proper to trouble the court with the trial, and charge the 
public with the expense of all of them, I have examined six of "them, 
who say there were but eight Indians in the party ; that two only fired on 
the whites ; that six were disarmed by the whites before the firing commen- 
ced,, and that they could not therefore have fired, if they had been so disposed. 
If this statement be true, and it so far agrees with the statement which, as 
I have heard, the whites make, the six Indians alluded to, were only guilty 
of going beyond their boundary. If so they would be subject to no other 
penalty than that inflicted by the Indian law, which is severe, and the chiefs 
are ready to inflict that. The wounded Indian is subjected to a more seri- 
ous charge, and ought, I think, to be punished by the civil authority. I 
m ike a ten !er through you to the civil authority of Alachua county, of 
the whole of them, and request that you will inform me, whether the whole, 
and if not the whole, what portion of them will be claimed by it. You are 
aware that the demand for them must be based upon admissible affidavits, 
charging them with a crime, punishable by the civil authority. 

Very respectfully, 

Your humble servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON. 

Indian Agent. 

F. R. Sancey, Esq. 

Judge of Alachua County Court. 



Seminole Agency, July 7, 1835. 

3m : Some days ago I sent Mr. Winslett to request some of the citizens, 
who were engaged in the late unfortunate occurrence with a party of In- 
dians, in Alachua county, to attend an examination of the Indian prisoners 
at this place, for the purpose of coming to a conclusion, as to the propriety of 
sending them to that county for trial. I done so, because judging from the state- 
ment made by the Indians, and the statement that I heard that the party of 
whites gave of the affair, I thought it probable that the citizens would be of 
opinion, that the six Indians who were disarmed by the whites, before the 
firing commenced, were guilty of no crime, but going beyond their boun- 
dary and killing a cow, and that it would therefore be improper to trouble 
the court with their trial, and charge the public with the expense of their 
transportation, imprisonment, and trial. The chiefs are ready to inflict 
the penalty of the Indian law upon them, which is severe whipping. The 
owner of the cow, that was killed, will have a claim upon the nation for 
her value. The other prisoner is subject to a more serious charge, and 
ought to be punished by the civil authority. I wrote to F. R. Sancey, 
Esq. judge of Alachua county court, making a tender of all the prisoners, 
through him, to the civil authority of the county, and having heard that 
you are on your way to his neighborhood, I beg the favor of you to present 
the letter to him, (and send this to him as it more fully explains my views) 
and request of him an answer. It is important that the subject should be 
immediately attended to, as the Indians begin to complain of delay. 
Judge Sancey lives in three miles of Newnansville. 



240 



[ Doc. No. 27 i. ] 



I am told that Mr. Wirislett stated, that if the citizens did not attend on 
the day appointed, I would release the priscnsrs. He misunderstood me, 
as I never had an idea of releasing them, until I fully discharged my duty, 
in making a direct and regular tender of them to the civil authority. 
Please biing Judge Sancey's answer with you. 

Very respectfully, 

Your humble servant. 

WILEY THOMPSON, 

Indian Agent. 

Lieut. G. Smith. 



Camp King, July 26, 1835. 
Sir : On the 9th of July, I delivered your letter to Francis R. Sancey, Esq. 
judge of the county court of Alachua ; also a communication addressed lo 
myself, in which you express a desire to co-operate with the civil authority, 
in a full investigation of all the circumstances, which lately occurred be- 
tween a party of the Seminole Indians and several citizens of Alachua. 
After reading the communications referred to, Jud^e Sancey stated to me, 
that he should be obliged to postpone writing to you upon' the subject in 
question, until he could see the parties interested in the affair, and have 
their statement and views, as to the disposition of the Indian prisoners. 

At your request I read your letter to many respectable citizens. The 
original I herewith enclose. 

I am, very respectfully, 

Sir, your most obedient servant, 

CONSTANTINE SMITH, 

Lt. 2d Beg. Art 

Gen. Wiley Thompson, 

8up. of Indian Affairs, 

Seminole Agency, East Florida. 



Seminole Agency, July 27, 1835. 
Sir: On the 7th inst. I wrote to Francis E. Sancey, Esq. judge of Ala- 
chua county court, making a tender of the Indian prisoners now in con- 
finement, through him, to the civil authority. My letter to him was deli- 
vered by Lieutenant C. Smith on the 9th inst. Eighteen days has since 
transpired, and I have not yet received an answer, notwithstanding the short 
distance which separates Judge Sancey from this post ; I have therefore 
decided to release them to the chiefs, now assembled, on their pledge, 
(which they have given to me) to deliver them up, should they be here- 
after called for. 

I request, therefore, that you will order them to be sent to my office, 
where the chiefs are assembled. 

Very respectfully, 

Your humble servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON, 

Col. A. C. Ham m in. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



241 



Seminole Agency, November 30, 1836. 
Sir : About the 14th inst. I was informed that five of the chiefs, friendly 
to emigration with their people, amounting- to from four to five hundred, 
had fled to the vicinity of Fort Brooke on Tampa Bay, for protection. On the 
26th inst. Charley Emartly, the most intelligent, active and enterprising 
chief in this part of the nation, friendly to removal, was murdered by those, 
opposed to the removal : this murder was effected through the agency of a 
sub-chief, (Povodly) who professed to be and was considered friendly. The 
consequences resulting from this murder, leaves no doubt that actual force 
must be resorted to for the purpose of effecting the removal, as it has produced 
a general defection among those Indians now in the nation, who were 
pledged to remove voluntarily. What effect it may have on those assem- 
bled at the Bay, T can only conjecture ; they are in a deplorable condi- 
tion, separated from this post by the whole extent of the Indian terri- 
tory, a distance of upwards of one hundred miles ; remote from those 
sections where supplies are produced, and in the vicinity of a post 
which has no extra provisions, and which is dependent upon sea tran- 
sportation for supplies of every description. Destitute of the means of 
subsistence, it is to be feared they, too, will return to the nation, and, 
from necessity, become disaffected. I had advertised the sale of Indian- 
cattle, to commence on the 1st of the ensuing month, but the murder of 
Charley Emartla, and the threats of the hostile Indians, produced such a 
panic among those who would have surrendered their cattle, as to defeat 
that operation totally. In all probability, the obstinacy and treachery of 
these Indians will supersede the necessity of any valuation and sale of their 
cattle, as these will be lost or destroyed in the conflict which is now inevit- 
able. If any of the Seminoles should be able to surrender their cattle to me 
in compliance with the treaty, during the struggle, I will take such mea- 
sures as I may think best calculated to secure the interest of all concerned. 
We must not lose sight of the removal of at least a considerable portion of 
these people at the appointed time. These refractory people should, and 
will, (on a concentration of the forces under General Clinch,) be forced to 
yield, or they will be crushed. A determined movement upon them will, 
perhaps, reassure those disposed to be friendly, and convince those who are 
hostile, of the folly of any attempt to resist. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON, 

Sup. Sem. Removal. 

Gen. G. Gibson. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office of Com. Gen. of >Suh. Dec. 3, 1835. 
Str: Your letter of the 10th ult. is just received. There will be no diih- 
culty in regard to the paying of Mr. Winslet for his services as interpreter. 
It was thought best that the certificate of his having served should proceed 
fro.u the superintendent; because it was believed, notwithstanding his be- 
ing actively employed a considerable distance from your point of location, 
that you were cognizant of the appointment, and could certify to the duties 
having been performed. But Major Zantzinger's certificate will be per- 



242 [ Doc. No. 271. ] 

fectly satisfactory, and that gentleman can state the facts respecting the 
keeping of a horse. If Mr. Winslet did so of necessity constantly, let him 
be paid accordingly. 

Respectfully, 6cc. 

GEO. GIBSON. C. G. £ 

Gen. Wiley Thompson. 

* Sup. Sem. Removal. Sem. Agency. Florida. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. Dec. 4, 1835. 
Sir : Youis of the 13th November, written at Camden. Pennsylvania > 
and enclosing contracts for furnishing transport, provisions, and goods, for 
the Seminole Indians, and with a physician for his attendance during the 
emigration, came duly to hand. 

The course you have pursued in regard to the contracts, and the manner 
in which you have thus far carried out the instructions of this office, are 
approved. 

This office would most cheerfully allow the distribution of the blankets, 
frocks. &c. before emigration, but the treaty provides it should take place 
after. The best that can be done by way of mitigation of the influence of 
the season upon the Seminoles. will be. to make the distribution at Rock 
Row. This can. I doubt not. be effected, with the exception, of course, of 
that portion of the blankets sent west. 

GEO. GIBSON. C. G. S. 

Lieut. J. W Harris. 

Disbursing Ascent Seminoles. New Orleans. 



V\ ar Department, December 4, 1S35. 
Sir : I have just received your letter of the 13th ultimo. When I re- 
quested, in my letter to you of the 20th of October, that force should not be 
applied in the removal' of the refractory Seminoles, until those of the tribe 
who were disposed peaceably to go had proceeded to their embarkation, I 
did not intend to prevent all proper measures for the apprehension of the 
Indians who had been concerned with the murder of Dalton. On the con- 
trary. I concur fully in your suggestions, that these persons should be ar- 
rested without delay. And you are authorized to proceed in such manner, 
and at such time, as you may judge expedient to arrest them, and to deliver 
them over to the civil authority. 

Respectfully. &<* 

LEW. CASS. 

Secretary of War. 

Bievet Brig. Gen. D. L. Clinch. 

L . S. Army. Fort King. Florida. 



i 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



243 



City of New Orleans, La. Dec. 7, 1835. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge your letter of the 18th ultimo, 
and the enclosure, with this statement of letters received and written in No- 
vember. 

I arrived at this city on the evening of the 1st inst. only ; this, in conse- 
quence of unavoidable delays on the road. I have been engaged since my 
arrival in collecting the necessary information to complete my arrange- 
ments for the removal and subsistence of the Florida Indians. But in con- 
sequence of the uncertainty of the arrival at the Balize of the emigrants to 
be first embarked, the terms offered are too disadvantageous to the economy 
of service to admit of my closing a contract. I have satisfied myself by 
inquiry through the best houses here, that there will be no risk in deferring 
my engagements until the arrival of the party at the Balize. 1 have inte- 
rested a suitable agent to be upon the look out, and to warn masters of a 
certain class of steam-boats, that they will probably find a cash employ- 
ment by being in port between the 25th and 31st of January next. I shall 
take passage on board the fleetest sailer of our sea transports, and shall part 
company in season to be at the Balize a few hours before the rest. I shall 
immediately repair to the city and conclude my arrangements. My agent 
is furnished with a copy of the stipulations I shall require, and is also au- 
thorized to have an eye upon the provision market. Provisions are now 
unusually high ; the produce of th@ year has not yet come in ; and I shall 
consequently buy at present only such as is indispensably needed to subsist 
the emigrants at Tampa Bay. 

I shall leave to-morrow morning for Fort King. Please address to this 
city. Captain Brown has recent advices from me, relating, however, to 
my arrangements and individual opinion as to the success of the emigration. 
I have had no advices from the Seminole agency since I left there, viz: the 
4th September last. 

^ I have the honor to be, (fee. 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, Lieut. 
Dishti^sing Agent, Florida Indians. 

General George Gibson, 

Commissary General of Subsisterice. 

N. B. Please advise me if the deposite banks are not bound to give drafts 
on the north or south, as the interests of service may, in the opinion of dis- 
bursing agents, require ? 

J. W. H. 



Seminole Agency, Dec. 7, 1835. 
Sir : Your letter of the 13th ultimo, with Colonel Yancey's account en- 
closed, was received by last mail. I regret that the hurry of the moment 
when it was enclosed to you, caused me to overlook the necessity of making 
my requisition for the payment of it. You have it herewith returned ; the 
omission supplied. The Indians in this section of the nation, immediately 
succeeding the murder of the chief, Charley Emartla, assembled at the towns 
called Big Swamp and Long Swamp. On yesterday morning I received infor- 
mation that they have all disappeared ; their destination is the subject of vari- 
ous conjectures here. There are only thirteen Indians who have come in to 



244 



[ Doc No. 271. ] 



this post. We can obtain no runners, as the Indians here are afraid to* 
venture out of sight of the post ; we have, therefore, not yet ascertained 
what direction they have taken. I have no doubt that the object of the 
whole body of the disaffected is to retreat to the wild region on the penin- 
sula of Florida, in the neighborhood of what is called the Everglades. 
Holate Emartla, and his four co-chiefs, with their people, are still in the 
vicinity of Fort Brooke, on Tampa Bay. Captain Fraser has informed me 
that they surfer much for provisions, and I have requested him to make 
such economical issues to them, as the extra supplies which he has in store 
will admit ; and to afford them all possible protection, as I very much fear 
it is a prime object with the hostile Indians to destroy the whole party. The 
maintenance of Holate Emartla and his party in their present, position 7 1 con- 
sider of great importance, as their dispersion would serve to encourage the 
disaffected and correspondingly depress those friendly to emigration. Be- 
sides, by maintaining him and his party there, we present a rallying point 
for such as may be disposed to come in after their panic subsides. For 
these reasons I have requested Captain Fraser to issue provisions to them. 
Marauding parties of Indians have recently burned a few houses beyond 
the Indian boundary, and stole some horses. These, with other circum- 
stances, -induce me to consider the Indians as decidedly in a state of hos- 
tility. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILEY THOMPSON, 
Superintendent Seminole Removak 

Gen. George Gibson. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Off. Com. Gen. of Sub. Dec. 9, 1835. 

Sir: I acknowledge the reception to-day of your letter of the 18th ult- 
It had not been forgotten that a contract had been made for the subsistence, 
of the Seminoles, but it was believed the contractor might not fulfil if,, 
in consequence of the procrastination of the removal, and compulsion in 
such a case, or purchasing for the outset, must not be resorted to. Still it 
is by no means intended to say that the withdrawal of contractors under 
any pretence should be countenanced. A letter received from you on the 
3d instant, dated the 12th November, states the difficulty in which this Se- 
minole contractor has involved himself, and asks whether the securities may 
fulfil the contract, in such manner as that they can get pay for the rations 
delivered by them. There is no doubt of this ; the bond recognises their 
right to do so, and the receipt may be given to them as securities of Jouett. 
S nou Id any question, in regard to the profits, arise hereafter between them 
and Jouett, or his heirs, that would be another matter, and would, perhaps, 
have to be decided judicially. 

The wagon roll was transmitted to you ; you will find another copy 
herewith. 

You remark that it would be preferable the blankets and frocks intended 
for the Seminoles should be sent to Little Rock, rather than to Rock Row. 
The intention was that they should be distributed at the latter place, but 
they will be landed at the mouth of White river, and can assuredly as well 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



245 



-be distributed there as at Rock Row. Should the property arrive at New 
Orleans, or mouth of White River, after the Indians have passed, you will 
have it transported to Fort Gibson ; but you will make immediate arrange • 
ments to pay the freight at the mouth of White River, where it may arrive 
before the Indians reach that place. 

The time at which the Seminoles are to be removed is of their own selec- 
tion. I regret, as well as you do, that they could not be got to emigrate at 
a more genial season. I trust, however, to the known ability of those 
employed, to direct the movements throughout, for overcoming the ob- 
stacles which may present themselves. 

The monthly acknowledgment of letters will do, except especial action 
is immediately required. 

GEORGE GIBSON, C. G. S. 

Capt. Jacob Brown, 

Pr. Dis. Agt. Rem. Ind. Little Rock, A. T. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. December 11, 1835. 
Sir : Immediately after the arrival of the Seminole emigrants at the mouth 
of White river, you will, (should the blankets, frocks, (fee. intended for 
them have reached that place,) distribute among them those articles, accord- 
ing to the following rales. The trealy guaranties to every man, woman 
and child, a blanket and a frock, and it is estimated that there are about 
three thousand Indians. Eight hundred and fifty pairs of blankets, have 
already been sent to Fort Gibson for them, and seven hundred pairs of blan- 
kets, with fourteen hundred frocks for males, and materials for sixteen hun- 
dred wrappers for females, will be sent from New York in a few days. 
There will then be at the mouth of White river, blankets for fourteen hun- 
-dred, and frocks, &c. for three thousand persons. Both blankets and frocks 
are of three sizes to wit : 

Blankets, largest size ------ 300 

second size - - * - - - 750 

third size - - - - - i 350 

1,400 



Frocks, largest size - - - - - - 600 

second size - 500 

third size 300 



1,400 



The material to be distributed to the females will be in about the follow- 
ing proportion according to Lieutenant Harris's calculation. 

Yards 

To the largest size, say 700 persons 7h yards each - - 4,550 

second size. 600 « 5t " do. - - 3,300 

third size, 300 " 4 - do - - 1,200 



9,050 



246 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



The 1,700 blankets at Fort Gibson will be distributed immediately after 
the Indians reach the new country. 

The articles will be delivered to the Indians in such manner that every 
one may get his due; but the receipts or acknowledgments of the chiefs 
and head men will suffice. The delivery will be made in presence of the 
agents for removal, and certified to by them. A form of "abstract" is here- 
with and also a " quarterly statement of treaty articles." On the latter you 
will charge yourself with the full quantity of each article received, and 
credit yourself with the delivery on the former. The statement will be 
rendered quarterly as long as any articles remain in your hands. 

~Y"ours (fee 

GEO. GIBSON, Com. Gen. Sub. 

Captain Jacob Brown, 

Prin. Dis. Agent, Little Rock. 



Fort King, Flo. December 30, 1835. 

To Com. Gen. Subsistence, U. JS. Army : 

Sir : I have the honor to report to you my arrival at this post, which I 
reached on the evening of the 28th instant, having been delayed by una- 
voidable detainures upon the road several days beyond the time I fixed upon 
for the accomplishment of my journey. 

I regret that it becomes my first duty after my arrival here, to be the 
narrator of a s ory which it will be, I am sure, as painful for you to hear, 
as it is for me, who was almost an eye witness to the bloody deed, to relate 
to you. Our excellent superintendent, Gen. Wiley Thompson, has been 
most cruelly murdered by a party of the hostile Indians, and with him 
Lieutenant Constant ne Smith, of the 2d regiment of artillery,. Erastus 
Rogers the sutler of the post, together with his two clerks, a Mr. Hitzler, 
and a boy called Robert. 

This occurred on the afternoon of the 28th instant, between three and 
four o'clock. The troops, with the exception of Captain Lendrunfs com- 
pany of the 3d artillery, had been withdrawn on the 26th, to reinforce 
General Clinch, at Lang Syne plantation, preparatory to his striking a 
blow at the families of the Indians supposed to be concealed in the swamps 
and hammocks of the Withlacoochee river, with the hope of bringing on 
a general engagement. The departure of the detachment had rendered 
precaution more necessary, and all those attached to the fort or agency, 
had been required to move within the picketing. General Thompson slept 
within the defences, and passed the greater part of the day at the agency 
office, about 100 yards beyond the works. The sutler had moved his 
g;oods into the fort, but was in the habit of eating his meals at his house, 
some six or eight yards off, skirting a thick hammock to the northwest of 
us. His clerks ate with him. 

On the day of the massacre Lieutenant Smith had dined with the gen- 
eral, and after dinner invited him to take a short stroll with him. They 
had not proceeded more than 300 yards beyond the agency office, when 
they were fired upon by a party of Indians, who rose from ambush in the 
hammock, within sight of the fort, and on which the sutler's house borders. 
The reports of the first rifles fired, the war-whoop twice repeated, and T 
after a brief space, several other volleys more remote and in the quarter of 



[ Doc. No. 271] 



247 



Mr. Rogers's house, were heard, and the smoke of the firing seen at the 
fort. \ 

Upon the first alarm Captain Lendrum drew in his men, who were for 
the most part busily engaged without the pickets, securing and strength- 
ening the defences. Expecting an assault from the hammock immedi- 
ately fronting and flanking the fort, and not then knowing of the absence 
of General Thompson and the others, thinking the firing was but a feint 
to draw him out to be cut off. Shortly, however, the fact was made known 
to him, and about the same time several whites and colored people, who 
had escaped from the sutler's house, came running in and apprised Cap- 
tain Lendrum that Mr. Rogers, his clerks and themselves, had been sur- 
prised at dinner ; and that the three former had, in all probability, fallen 
into the hands of the Indians. 

It was at this moment that Lieut. Colonel Crane, of the army, and my- 
self, with an escort of six mounted militia upon jaded horses, arrived at 
the fort, by the rear of the hammock from which the ambush -arose. A 
command was instantly despatched to succor, and pursue, if not too late. 
But the butchery had been as brief as it was complete, and the last whoop 
that had been heard was the signal for a precipitate retreat, and the savage 
perpetrators were already beyond the reach of our small force. 

The bodies of General Thompson, Lieutenant Smith and Mr. Kitzler, 
were soon found and brought in ; those of the others were only discovered 
this morning. That of General Thompson was perforated with fourteen 
bullets and a deep knife wound in the right breast. Those of Lieutenant 
Smith and Mr. Kitzler, had each received two bullets, and the head of the 
latter was so broken that the brains had come out. The bodies of the two 
found to-day were most shockingly mangled ; the heads of each very much 
broken ; the body of Mr. Rogers was penetrated by seventeen bullets and 
that of the boy by two. All, saving the boy, were scalped. The remains 
of these unfortunates were decently and properly interred to-day. 

The cowardly murderers are supposed to be a party of the Mickasookee 
tribe of 40 or 60 strong, under the traitor Powell, whose shrill peculiar 
war-whoop was recognised by our interpreters, and the one or two friendly 
Indians we have at the fort who know it well. 

Two expresses, soldiers, were despatched upon fresh horses on the even- 
ing of this horrid tragedy, with tidings of it to General Clinch ; but from 
our not hearing from him or them, we are apprehensive that they were cut 
'off. We are also exceedingly anxious for the fate of the two companies 
which had been ordered up from fort Brooke, and which should have been 
so a week ago, of whom we can learn nothing. Our communication 
with Tampa is cut off. 

I am apprehensive that the hostile disposition is a very general one. All 
the upper Indians, with but a few exceptions, who were friendly since the 
council of April last, have gone over to the war party. We are told that 
Micanopy, the head chief, is opposed to hostile measures, though still ob- 
jecting to emigrate, and has ordered all his people to remain neutral. Upon 
this statement I place no reliance. There may be in all, from 5 to 600 
people in the nation who will consent to remove peaceably. I hear that 
there are from 3 to 500 already assembled at Tampa Bay. The rest will 
fight and must be whipped first. 

I regret exceedingly, sir, to be the bearer of such unwelcome and me- 
lancholy tidings to you, and wish in my heart that the interests of your 



248 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



Department could wear a more promising aspect in this quarter. From 
my conversation with yourself and the hon. Secretary of War, when at 
Washington in October, which led to the appointment of " David M. Shef- 
field as an assistant agent,"' I conceive him to be the proper temporary suc- 
cessor of the late superintendent, and I have advised him to assume the 
duties of the office. He is a gentleman without experience, to be sure, in 
the official station to which he is so suddenly called ; but he possesses a 
fund ot plain, unpretending, practical common sense, which, in my opinion, 
will render him every way competent to fill, with efficiency, the vacancy 
occasioned by this melancholy casualty. Whatever assistance my own 
experience may be to him has been most cheerfully tendered, and will 
always be at his command. 

My present advices will be that the agents of the removal, shall repair 
to Tampa Bay as soon as our communication shall be opened • that such 
Indians as we shall find assembled, with the exception of the warriors and 
boys whose services may be required by General Clinch, shall be embarked 
on board the transports as they arrive, both for their better security, and to 
insure the fidelity of the males who shall be employed as above. At the 
expiration of the " lay days" required by the contract, it will be best to dis- 
charge such of the transports assembled at Tampa Bay, whose services 
will not be required to sail with such of the emigrants as shall be then col- 
lected, whom I will accompany as far as New Orleans ; there forward to 
Hock Row, and remain myself to furnish transportation and subsistence to 
such as shall come after, and to make the necessary settlements with con- 
tractors, &c. To leave at Tampa Bay such vessels as, in likelihood, will, 
be required before those of the first party can return from the Balize, and 
to let the Indians be closely confined on board of these as they are brought 
in, until it be deemed expedient to despatch a second party ; and so of a 
third, until all are removed. Should there be no promise of removing in 
all, a greater number than that for which sea transportation has been con- 
tracted, viz : eighteen hundred, it will probably be more economical to 
retain, upon demurrage, a reasonable time, than to discharge the transports 
whose services will eventually be required. Of the expediency of choice 
in these adoptions I can only judge hereafter. 

As soon as practicable I shall aid Mr. Sheffield in examining the papers 
of General Thompson, in taking an inventory of the property, and in adopt- 
ing such measures as, in our judgments, shall best secure the service and 
his heirs from further suffering from his bloody taking off. The returns 
due from me as disbursing agent will be speedily made out and forwarded. 

I would respectfully suggest that you recommend to the hon. Secretary 
of War, that the annuity due to the hostile Indians, shall be retained to 
defray in part the expenses of this war, and that the slaves who shall be 
captured, whom I believe to have been generally active instigators to our 
present troubles, be sold at public sale, and the proceeds appropriated to the 
same object. 

Without prejudice to my duties in your Department, I have considered 
that the present posture of affairs called for my temporary services in the 
field, and upon my arrival at Lang Syne plantation, the head quarters ol 
General Clinch, I placed my military capacities at the disposal of that 
officer. Two companies have been daily expected at this post from Fort 
Brooke for some time past, and four in all are now hourly looked for. It is 
strange they have not arrived before. I was ordered by General Clinch to 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



249 



accompany Lieutenant Colonel Crane to this post with the hope of our 
finding- this reinforcement already here, and to aid in bringing it up to 
form a junction with the combined forces of himself and General Call 
upon the Withlacoochee. The present strength of these Generals amounts 
to something upwards of 200 United States troops and 500 mounted mili- 
tia. In consequence of the non-arrival of the companies from below, and 
the weak condition of Fort King, Colonel O. and myself are to remain here 
until further orders. 

Accept, sir, &c. 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, Lieut. 

Dis. Agent, Flo. Indians. 

Since writing the foregoing, which I had hoped to have forwarded ere 
this to the nearest post town, we have had news of the safe arrival of our 
expresses at General Clinch's head quarters. One of them returned here 
to-day at about 1 o'clock, P. M. He brings us for news that the forces of 
Generals Clinch and Call were brought into action on the left bank of the 
Withlacoochee river, about 40 miles from here, on the afternoon of Thurs- 
day, the 31st ult. In consequence of the depth of the stream and want of 
boats, the troops were crossed slowly, some by a single canoe, some by 
swimming. About 200 regulars and a few militia had been crossed, and 
General Clinch and a number of the officers were engaged at the river in 
constructing a temporary bridge to cross the militia, whose horses would 
not swim, when they were suddenly set upon by the Indians. Our troops 
had been formed in the pine barren upon which the hammock borders 
about one -quarter of a mile from the river. Arms had been piled, and ac- 
cording to accounts they were somewhat scattered and taken by surprise. 
The order of battle was promptly taken I believe, and for fifty minutes a 
sharp skirmishing ensued. The Indians were much concealed by the 
hammock; our men were much exposed in the open pine barren. From 
the accounts I suppose the enemy to haye been driven back, and, from some 
good cause doubtlessly, our troops were recrossed the river before night set 
in ; and the next morning retreated to Lang Syne. But few of the militia, 
says the report, were in the battle, and their determination to return imme- 
diately to their homes, is the conjecture we hazard as to this precipitate 
retreat. It is calculated the enemy were from 200 to 300 strong. Our 
force was rising of 200 regulars, and more than 500 mounted militia. Our 
loss 4 killed and 40 or 50 wounded, amongst the latter, Captain William 
Graham, 4th infantry, and Lieutenants Graham and Maitland of the 3d. 
and Ridoely of the 2d artillery. It is thought the enemy's loss was from 
30 to 40 killed (probably exaggerated) and many wounded. 

The above has been corroborated by the arrival of Lieutenant Talcott, 
3d artillery, who was in the action. * All agree that the Indians fought 
well. 

Respectfully, (fee. 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, 
St. Bis. Agt. 

Sunday night, Jan. 3, 1836. 

The troops from Tampa have not yet arrived and we feel exceedingly 
anxious about them. It is said a soldiefs knapsack was found on the bat- 
tle ground of the 31st: dropped by one of the enemy. 

J. W. H. 



250 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. December 31, 1835. 
Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your communications of the 
30th ultimo, and 7th instant. 

Respectfully, (fee. 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. S. 

General Wiley Thompson, 

Supt. Seminole Removal, Fort King, Florida. 



Little Rock, January 2, 1836. 
Sir: Herewith I have the honor to transmit three contracts with bonds, 
to supply the Seminole Indians with subsistence and forage, and for 
wagons and teams to transport their baggage, on the route of emigration 
from Rock Row. to their new country west ; and 
I am, sir, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

J. BROWN, Capt. U. S. Army, 
Prin. Dis. Agent, Indian Removal. 

General Geo. Gibson, 

Com. Gen. Sub. Washington, D. C. 



Little Rock, A. T. Jan. 6, 1836. 

Sir : I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letters dated 7th, 9th y 
10th, and 11th ultimo, covering form of wagon roll, abstract and quar- 
terly statements of property received and issued to Indians. 

The instructions in relation to the delivery of the blankets and frocks 
to the Seminoles, at the mouth of White river shall beattended to. 
|Very respectfully, I am sir, 

Your obedient servant, 

J. BROWN, Gapt. U. S. Army. 
Prin. Dis. Agent, Indian 
General Geo. Gibson, Removal. 
Com. Gen. Sub. Washington D. C. 



Fort Brooke, Tampa, 

January 9, 1836. 

Sir : I have the honor to forward this, by express, to Saint Marks, and 
by the same opportunity have communicated with Governor Eaton and 
General Clinch, and have referred the former to Mr. Steel, of the custom- 
house department, who will wait upon him at Tallahassee, and afford him 
many useful details. 

No attack has yet been made on this post, though we have constantly 
expected it, as the enemy is round us, and, as we suppose, in force, and 
very audaciously stealing horses and cattle close to our picket ; six horses 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



25* 



were carried off yesterday, and a negro, from whom they will doubtless get 
what information they want. 

Nearly the complete number (4 wanting) of transports for the emigration 
service have arrived, and the agent for the contractors is very anxious to 
know what they have to do on the 15th, the day on which their perform- 
ance of the agreement is to commence ; Lieutenant Harris, the agent for 
the United States, being yet absent. 

Looking to the contingencies of the campaign, already, I trust, gallantly 
commenced by the Floridians and Georgians, as auxiliaries to General 
Clinch, I have advised the chief Holate Emartla, of the probable want of 
the best qualified and active young men and warriors of his force, to serve 
as guides, scouts, &c. To this, he promptly and cheerfully acceeded, should 
he be advised to that effect by the agent. His whole force is on duty every 
night around the work, and perhaps a mile or two in advance ; they have 
their pirogues ready for retreat if pressed, as I could by no means receive 
them in the work. I have issued them 75 blankets, of which 55 were pur- 
chased. We are without any information from head quarters. One great 
reason for this express to Saint Marks, is to communicate either with Gen. 
Clinch or Governor Eaton. The vessel is a store schooner on demurrage, 
and at no more expense than demurrage she performs this useful duty. 

I have the honor to be, 

Your obedient servant, 

F. S. BELTON, 
Captain Artillery Commanding. 

To General Jones, 

Adjutant General. 



Fort King, Florida Territory, 

January 10, 1836. 
Sir : 1 have herewith the honor to cover to you my account current, 
property return, and statement of agents, and return of provisions, for the 
4th quarter of the year 1835. I send no estimate for the current quarter. 
It is impossible for me to draw up other than a form, in the present posi- 
tion of affairs. Just now, I would not hazard a conjecture, even of twenty- 
four hours into the future. 

Our communications with Tampa Bay remain closed, and not a word 
has been heard from there since the breaking out of hostilities. 
As soon as the road is open, I shall repair thither. 

I have the honor to be, sir, 

With very great esteem, 

Your obedient servant, 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, Lieut 
Dis. Agent > Florida Indians. 

To Com. Gen. Subsistence, 
United States Army. 



£52 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



Seminole Agency, Fort King. 

January 10, 1836. 
Sir : I have the honor herewith to enclose to you the quarterly state- 
ment of agents and others employed in the removal and subsistence of the 
Florida Indians, for the quarter ending on the 31st December, 1835. This 
duty has devolved upon me, from the distressing occurrence of the death 
of the late superintendent, General Wiley Thompson, of which, I presume, 
you have been advised by the disbursing agent, Lieutenant J. W. Harris, 
by whose advice, in conjunction with that of Colonel Crane, 1 am (for the 
time being) acting as superintendent of the Seminole removal. 

I have the honor to be, 
Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

D. M. SHEFFIELD. 

George Gibson, Esq. 

Com. Gen. Sub. Washington City. 



War Department, 

January 11, 1836. 

Sir : General Clinch has this day been informed, that as soon as the 
Indians have been reduced to submission, they must be properly secured 
and embarked, as soon as possible, on board the vessels provided for them, 
and proceed to their destination west of the Mississippi. You will cause 
to be provided the proper transportation, agreeably to the instructions here- 
tofore given, and exert yourself to remove them as promptly as possible. 

Respectfullv. &c. 

LEWIS CASS, 

Secretary of War. 

General Wiley Thompson, 

Sup. Seminole Removal, Fort King. Florida. 



War Department? 

January 11, 1836. 

Sir : I am instructed by the President to say to you, that you will con- 
tinue your operations against the Indians until they are reduced to sub- 
mission. You will grant them no pacification but upon their unconditional 
surrender, and with a distinct understanding that they embark immediately 
on board the vessels that have been provided, and proceed, without delay, 
to the country that has been set apart for them west of the Mississippi river. 
All the necessary arrangements for that purpose, will be made in conform- 
ity with the previous instructions by General Thompson, in conjunction 
with yourself. From the state of the feehng manifested by the Indians, it 
will be proper that the necessary guards should accompany them, and for 
this, you will provide as, in your opinion, circumstances will require. When 
a pacification is granted to the Indians, they must place themselves imme- 
diately under your control, and must be properly secured until they can be 
embarked. Such of them as you can ascertain have been guilty of private 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



253 



murders, previous to the commencement of hostilities, or any other infrac- 
tions of the laws, you will apprehend and deliver over to the civil authori- 
ties for examination. 

Respectfully, &c. 

LEWIS CASS, 

Secretary of War- 
Brevet Brig. Gen. D. L. Clinch, 

U. S. Army, Fort King, Florida. 



War Department, 

January 16, 1836. 
Sir : I have just learned, with much regret, that General Thompson has 
been killed by the Indians. I have to request that you will assign some 
officer to perform the duties entrusted to him, so that there may be no delay 
in the removal of the Indians. Let him be guided by the instructions 
which have been given on this subject. It is proper, however, to remark, 
that no compensation for this duty can be allowed under the law, except 
his actual travelling expenses. 

Respectfully, &c. 

LEWIS CASS, 

Secretary of War. 

Brevet Brig. Gen. D. L. Clinch, 

U. & Army, Fort King, Florida. 



Fort King, January 17, 1836. 

Sir : I have herewith the honor to forward the last half quarterly ac- 
counts of Joel Yancey for $184, agreeably to former instructions. 

I make this payment upon the requisition of the acting superintendent^ 
Mr. Sheffield, in consequence of the determination of this officer and my- 
self to proceed forthwith to Tampa Bay, by the way of St. Harks, charter- 
ing a small vessel at the latter place for this purpose, and of the wants of 
the said Yancey requiring that he should have money. 

When I last Wrote to you I had hoped to have been at Tampa Bay before 
this. The route, however, remains closed, and General Clinch is not at pre- 
sent, he informs me, in force to spare an escort, and will not be, he thinks, short 
of fourteen or fifteen days. This will not enable me to reach Fort Brooke 
under twenty of twenty-one days with the best of fortune. If 1 am lucky 
upon the route I have adopted, I may get there in nine days, my only re- 
grets are not having adopted it before. 

Not a word as yet from the troops at Fort Brooke, or those who were to 
have come from thence ; we are more than ever anxious about them. 

It is the general opinion now, I believe, that there are from four to five 
hundred warriors in the field of the hostile party, and they give daily and, 
to us, mortifying proofs how much they have been underrated. Nearly one- 
half indeed I believe more than one-half, of General Clinch's available re- 



254 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



fular force is employed in the transportation of provisions, the balance is 
ardly strong enough to defend itself within its picketings, 
I have the honor to be, sir, 

Respectfully your obedient servant, 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, Lieut 

Dis. Ag't Florida Indians. 

To Com, Gen. Sub. U. S. Army. 



Tallahassee, Florida, January 27, 1836. 

Finding after writing the above that I should out-travel the mail, 1 have 
been its bearer this far upon its journey. I am just in from St. Marks where 
I have been disappointed in not being able to get immediate passage for 
Tampa Bay. I shall be able to do so on Saturday. I heard the first 
idings of the melancholy fate of Major Dade's command when within fifty 
miles of this place only. 

The account is necessarily vague ; the main points of it, however, are 
sufficiently corroborated. 

There is no doubt that eight gallant officers, and upwards of one hundred 
brave soldiers, the elite of the five companies then at Fort Brooke, have 
been overwhelmed by numbers, and most inhumanly butchered by our 
savage foe. From all we can learn both officers and men fought desperately, 
and to the latest breath nobly acquitted themselves of their duties to their 
country. 

It is currently believed that Micconopy, the head chief of the Seminoles 
proper, was present and directed or sanctioned the attack. Also, that all 
the Indians and negroes not with the troops are under arms, and that they 
have been strongly reinforced of late by runaway and stolen negroes. The 
enemy is evidently in greater strength than I had imagined, probably not 
to exceed one thousand ivarriors, although the more popular opinion is that 
the number nearer approaches tivo thousand. 

I learn that there is rather more than five hundred friendly Indians at 
Tampa. 

I shall be unable to decide definitely upon the discharge of transports 
until I reach Fort Brooko, as soon after which time as opportunity offers, I 
shall write to you. Please address me in duplicate to New Orleans and 
Fort . Brooke, Tampa Bay, Florida. 

Respectfully, vour obedient servant, 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, Lieut. 

Dis. Ag't Florida Indians. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. January 21, 1836. 

Sir : I have the honor to send you copies and extracts from communi- 
cations addressed to this office on the subject of Seminole Indians, and of 
several communications addressed to General Clinch and General Thomp- 
son. When you have leisure to peruse these papers you will find in them 
useful and interesting information, particularly in Lieutenant Harris's letter 
of the 31st ultimo, and the postscript of the 3d instant. I take the liberty 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



255 



to say of Lieut. J. W. Harris, 3d artillery, (our disbursing emigrating officer 
in Florida) that he has not his superior, of his grade, in the army. His 
business habits are unsurpassed, and he is in every way a highly accom- 
plished and most efficient officer. 

Very respectfully, &c. 

J. H. HOOK, 

Major U. S. Army. 

To. Major General Scott, U. S. Army. 



Emigration op Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. January 21, 1836. 

Sir: Your communication, dated Fort King, 30th December, together 
with your letter of the 31st instant, your account current, monthly return 
of provisions, received and issued, and your account of letters written and 
received, are received. 

In the present uncertain and unsettled state of Indian affairs in Florida, 
I can give no further definite instructions; but having entire confidence in 
the zeal and intelligence of yourself and Mr. Sheffield, commit to your good 
judgment and sound discretion, under the approbation of the commanding 
officer of the troops in Florida, the proper and necessary measure to be pur- 
sued in the immediate removal of the Seminole Indians to the west of the 
Mississippi. 

The future rendition of the statement of letters written and received, 
agreeable to circular of the 1st October, 1835, is no longer required. 

GEORGE GIBSON, C. G. S. 

Lieut. J. W. Harris, 

Dis. Ag't Seminoles, Fort King, Florida. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. January 25, 1836. 
Sir : Your communication of the 30th December, 1835, is xeceived, and 
I regret to learn that your anticipations as therein expressed are more than 
realized. 

j Please keep this office constantly informed of the state of affairs around 
you. 

GEORGE GIBSON, 
Coni'y Gen'l Sub. 

Lieut. J. W. Harris, 

.Dis. Ag't Seminoles, Fort King, Florida, 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. January 25, 1836. 
Captain: Yours of the 1st and 2d instant, together with your monthly 
return of letters, abstracts of bids and contracts, are this day received. 



256 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



Lieut. Harris has been instructed to keep you eonstanly apprised of the 
movements of the enumerating Seminole Indians. The most disastrous ac- 
counts have been received from Florida. The Globe of this morning 
gives Captain Belton s official account which furnishes the last intelligence 
this office is in possession of. 

I must commit to your sound discretion the propriety of discharging or 
otherwise, the teams engaged. You are quite as capable as myself of 
judging of the present prospects of the Seminole emigration. I can give 
no definite instructions at this time. 

GEORGE GIBSON. 

Com. Gen. Sub. 

Capt. J. Brown, Principal Disbursing Agent. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. January 25, 1836. 

Sir : You will keep Captain Jacob Brown, at Little Rock, constantly 
informed of the prospect of Seminole emigration, in order to enable him to 
judge of the necessity of making contracts for transportation, and you will 
please make him duplicate communications on the subject. 

GEORGE GIBSON, C. G. & 

Lieut. J. W. Harris, 

Dis. Ag*i Seminolcs, Fort King. Florida. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. February 1, 1836. 

Sir : As Lieutenant Harris, the disbursing agent for the removal of the 
Florida Indians, is prevented from being at Tampa Bay by insurmountable 
obstacles. I must look to you for the temporary performance of the duties 
which would devolve upon him. and desire you to exercise your discretion 
touching the propriety of detaining or discharging the transports which may 
have arrived, and may arrive, at Tampa Bay. They allow ten lay days,, 
after which a demurrage is provided for by the twelfth article of the con- 
tract, of twenty cents per diem, per ton, as registered on each and every 
vessel employed under this contract, that shall be detained by the said Har- 
ris, his agent, or successor in office. Should you think proper to discharge 
them, please have the Indian goods which are on board them forwarded to 
the quartermaster at New Orleans, with instructions to have the goods stored 
from this office. The transports were to be at Tampa Bay on'the 15th k 
January, 1S36. 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. & 

Captain F. S. Belton. 

Fort Brooke. Florida. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



Little Rock, A. T. February 2, 1836. 
Sir : I leave this to-day for the mouths of White and Arkansas rivers? 
for the purpose of meeting the Seminole , emigrants, in order to make the 
issue of blankets, &c. to them, as directed in your communications of the 
9th and 11th of December last. I shall be absent, for the purpose of ac- 
complishing this duty, from fifteen to twenty days. Of this, however, much 
depends upon the early arrival of the emigrants. The 10th instant is the 
period fixed for their arrival at Rock Row ; hence, they ought to be at the 
moiith of White river by the 6th or 7th. The recent news of their deter- 
mination not to remove, and the reports of a most horrid massacre, (which 
God grant may not prove true,) induces a, belief that there will be little or no 
emigration of that tribe at present. Be this as it may, every arrangement 
is made to receive them at Rock Row on the route of emigration, and in 
their new country. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

J. BROWN, Captain U. S. Army, 
Pr. Disb. Agent Indian Removal* 

General Geo. Gibson, 

Com, Gen, Sub. Washington, D. C. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Szib. February 6, 1836. 
Sir: The Secretary of War directs me to say that, owing to the present 
situation of the Seminole Indians, there being no prospect of any but a 
forced emigration by the military, he conceives there is no further necessity 
for your services; and directs that your present employment in the Semi- 
nole emigration, and of course your pay as agent, will cease on the receipt 
of this letter. 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. & 

Joel Yancey, Esq. 

Ass. dg y t Sem. Removal, Fort King, Florida, 



On board Brig Halcyon, 
Near Fort Brooke, Florida, February 7, 1836. 

Sir: I have herewith the honor to cover my statement of letters for the 
month of January. 

Also, to report to you that I arrived here, via St. Mark's, on the evening 
of the 3d instant. The acting agent, Mr. Sheffield, did not accompany me 
farther than Tallahassee. He was to have joined me again at St. Mark's 
on the evening of the day preceding that of the departure of our vessel for 
Tampa, at which time 1 received on board a letter from him apprising me 
" that his excellency Governor Eaton had so strongly urged the propriety of 
his proceeding to the towns of the Appalachicola bands, to endeavor to per- 
suade those Indians to join the forces then raising under General Call in 
their campaign against the* Seminole Indians, that he had yielded to the 



258 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



Governor's request, and would speedily join me at Tampa Bay." In the 

mean time, Mr. S. desired me. in Iris absence, to discharge the duties of 
his office. 

'Immediately, upon my arrival, I reported to Major Belton, the officer com- 
manding the fort, and received from him such intelligence as he was in pos- 
session of with regard to our Indian relations. It appears that a body of 
friendly Indians, composed of the bands of Holate Omartla, Cotchee Micco 
or Fuckeelustee Hajo, Hotulkee Ohola. and Econhatteem Micco, amounting 
to from 450 to 460 strong, assembled at this place early in December, in con- 
sequence of the murder of Charley Omartla, and the advice of General 
Thompson, the late agent, and have been subsisted here since that time. In 
consequence of the naked and destitute circumstances of these people, partly 
arising from the natural poverty of their condition, partly from the necessary 
precipitancy of their retreat, some issues have been made, unauthorized by 
the letter of the laws which govern the two departments which just now I 
have the honor to represent in Florida, and which evtry day evtnis would 
not have justified ; yet which, under the then existing circumstances, to 
have denied; would have been inhuman. 

They were starving, and were fed : naked, and pinched by the inclemen- 
cies of winter, and blankets have been given to them: defenceless, (for the 
garrison was at one time too weak to afford protection without its pickets, 
and the defences too contracted to admit of so large a number within.) and a 
few rifles have been issued to them. An abstract of these will be furnished 
to me at an early day, and a proper statement, explanatory of the exigencies 
under which the issues were made, will be forwarded by me for the sanction 
of the proper authority. 

I also found at anchor in the bay a fleet of thir f een transports, which had 
been ordered out by my contractor, in compliance with my requisition, and 
the terms of his contract. These had for the most part been in waiting for 
several weeks. 

After fully deliberating upon the prospects of a removal, I decided upon 
discharging eight of these vessels, and retaining the five largest and best, 
I would have discharged two others, had I not been apprehensive of the 
discouraging effect it would have produced jLipon the friendly Indians, as 
the three" would have been quite and more than sufficient for the transport- 
ation of them, and, in emergency, of a couple of hundred more. My hopes 
of obtaining a reinforcement to our corps of emigrants are very faint. 

Those who are here cf the friendly chiefs express a wish to be at once 
removed; and yet a willingness. I think reluctantly expressed, to aid our 
forces in bringing their - mad countrymen' 5 to reason. It is the wish of 
General Clinch to organize the friendly warriors as a body of scouts and 
spies, and he considers the services they might render invaluable. It was 
also the decided opinion of his excellency Governor Eaton, when I had the 
honor to pay my respects to him at Tallahassee, that these Indians should 
be retained for the present. For themselves, they will admit of no separa- 
tion ; their families must be where they are. 

Qn this account I defer further action, until the arrival of Mr. Sheffield, 
or of contrary advices from General Clinch. 

There are some varue rumors amongst us that that the hostile Indians 
have been whipped above and are retreating southward. These I think re- 
late to some hostile demonstrations that were made on and in the neighbor- 
hood of Fort King previous to my departure from that post, and which re- 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



259 



suited in nothing worth talking about, i I observed, however, as I came 
down the coast, numerous smokes to the south of Wythlacoochee river, as 
if the enemy was m force in that quarter. Smokes are also daily seen in 
this neighborhood in several directions. 

I discharged the superfluous transports on the evening of the 5th instant. 
In consequence of the " sixteen lay days" stipulated for under contract, those 
vessels were entitled to but five days charges for demurrage. 
In haste, I have the honor to be, sir, 

Respectfully, your most obedient servant, 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, 
Dish.- Agent and Set. Sap. Florida Indians, 

To. Com. Gen. Sub. 

United States Army. 

P. 3. The schohner Motto, bringing Major Zantzinger of the army, and 
intelligence that Lieutenant Colonel Twiggs, with seven hundred troops, 
mostly militia, were to have sailed from New Orleans on the 4th instant, 
arrived here yesterday. Colonel T. is looked lor hourly. 



Tallahassee, Flo. February 9, 1830. 
Sir : I have the honor to state to you, that some few days after the 
lamentable death of Gen. Wiley Thompson, which took place on the 28th 
ultimo, I by the advice of Gen. D. L. Clinch and Lieut. J. W. Harris, the 
disbursing agent, took upon myself the responsible duty of acting as super- 
intendent of the Seminole removal and agent for the Florida Indians, and 
knowing that you had been advised of the fact by Lieut. Harris, I have 
deemed it not important until the present time to write to you upon the 
subject myself. My duty as superintendent of removal, now calls me to 
Tampa Bay, for which place I expect to leave on the day after to-morrow. 
Lieut. Harris and myself left Fort King on the 23th ultimo, with a view 
of going to Tampa, for the purpose of embarking the friendly Indians 
assembled at that place, and discharging such of those transports which 
-are there waiting, and not immediately wanted. We were obliged to come 
by way of Tallahassee and St. Marks, as the hostilities of the Indians was 
such as made 'it extremely dangerous to go through the nation. On the 
27th ultimo, Lieut. Harris left this place for Tampa, and I should have 
accompanied him but for being advised by his Excellency J no. H. Eaton, 
to proceed to the Appalachicola river, for the purpose of endeavoring to 
organize those Indians to join some companies of militia, *vho are about to 
proceed to the Seminole nation. I succeeded in obtaining eleven who ex- 
pressed their willingness to do so, and arrived here with them on Sunday 
morning last, which will make my arrival at Tampa, some ten days later 
than I had anticipated it would have been ; but I still hope to be in time to 
attend to every business it may become necessary for me to attend to, as 
superintendent of the removal. Should it become necessary to forward 
any communications to me, they had probably as well be directed to Fort 



260 



[ Doc. No. £71. ] 



King, as they will be forwarded to me from that place to Tampa, should 
the way be opened between the two places at the time of their arrival. 
I have the honor to be, 

With great respect. 

Your obedient servant. 

DAVID M. SHEFFIELD, 

Act. Sup. Seminole Removal. 

To the Hon. Lewis Cass, 

Secretary of War. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. February 10, 1836. 
Sir : You will, as soon as it is practicable to do so, after the termination 
of hostilities, take as accurate a census as can be made of the whole num- 
ber of Seminole Indians and negroes of the nation, distinguishing their 
sexes, and showing also the number of males above and under the age of 
sixteen. 

You will also, by every means in your power, ascertain, with as much 
precision as you can, the number of Seminole warriors, and effective ne- 
groes, slaves, or allies, arrayed against the United States at any time during 
the existence of hostilities, and forward the required information to this 
office, for the Secretary of War. 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. & 

Lieut. J. W. Harris, 

Disbursing Agent, Seminoles* 

Fort King, Florida. 



Frazier's .Redoubt, Fort Brooke, Florida, 

February 15, 1S36. 

Sir : I have the honor to enclose through you, to the President of the 
United States, a talk of the Seminole chiefs and warriors now on terms of 
amity with our Government, to their " great father." It was delivered to me 
by Fa-lot-e-o-math-la, the principle chief of the friendly party, in the presence 
of the warriors then assembled at this post, with the exception of the chiefs 
Tus-tee-nug-gee-Hajo and Fis-hat-ke-mee-co, who were absent, but whom 
I am authorized to say concur in what the old chief has said. This talk I 
forward by the earliest opportunity which has presented itself, viz : by a 
vessel which will sail to-day for Pensacola or New Orleans. 

The untimely taking off of our late superintendent, General Thompson, 
and the absence of all other agents, connected with the Florida removal, 
have made me think it incumbent upon myself, with the approbation of my 
seniors, temporarily to assume the duties of that office. David M. Sheffield, 
who was appointed by you assistant agent to the removal, in October last, 
and who will relieve me in these duties, is daily expected here. 

In submitting through you the enclosed sentiments to the venerable au- 
thority to whom they are addressed, I respectfully beg leave to call your 
individual attention to each of them respectively, and to say with what 
pleasure I can recommend them to your personal notice for their truth, 
their justice, and their propriety 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 261 

It is true that these unfortunate Seminoles have thus far proved them- 
selves to be our fast" and very valuable friends; true that they have been 
faithful to their contract ; true that they have been severely sufferers by it. 
It is just, that whatever has been duly promised should be given to them : 
just that they should not be the losers by their friendship and their faith ; and 
but 'liberal, and (with a forecast to the effect to be produced on other tribes 
by the example of these devoted friends, and its reward) but prudent, that 
they should be greatly the gainers by it; and it is proper that in times like 
these our Government should hear the sentiments which it seems to me are 
offered in humility and in reason, of their allies, and should be seasonably 
reminded of its obligations and of its pledges. 

The murder of the chief Charley O-Math-la, by Powell and his con- 
federates, in November last, was followed up by the immediate abandon- 
ment of the friendly towns, and the precipitate retreat of their inhabitants, 
to this post or protection, more than one month before the time fixed upon 
for their assemblage for removal ; and here they have quietly remained 
ever since our steadfast friends, honestly foiling the intrigues of tneir 
countrymen in arms, and alike defying their counsels, their entreaties their 
promises and their threats. In furtherance, they have efficiently aided our 
cause by sending out their young men as scouts and spies, and have there- 
by imparted to the commanding officer of your troops here, much valuable 
information; and latterly they have done more. On the evening or tne 
8th instant, the day after the talk was made, which is here enclosed and 
from which, and from their previous conversations, I had understood that 
they did not wish to fight against their countrymen, and which disposition 
I approved. Upon their learning that our foe was in force in the neigh- 
borhood, and that a party was committing depredations within a few miles 
of their camp, of their own accord sallied out with a few citizen settlers 
who found themselves here, and maintained an obstinate combat with the 
enemy for several hours, retreating only before vastly superior numbers, 
and gaining the fort not until night was setting in. In this skirmish their 
loss was small, but it was sufficient to test their sincerity ; its amount was 
one missing supposed to have been killed, and two wounded, who are pro- 
vided for and are doing well. It is believed that their opponents suffered 
much more severely. Furthermore when Major General Gaines, with a 
light brigade of United States troops and Louisiana volunteers, under the 
command of Lieutenant Colonel Twiggs, fourth infantry, took the held 
on the 4th instant; they again urged that they might be permitted to go 
out also, and were permitted to do so after having been repeatedly told that 
that proof of their friendship was not required ot them. . 

Circumstances, over which your agents had no control, prevented tneir 
reaching this place before the 3d instant, upon which day I succeeded in 
arriving hereby adopting the circuitous route, via St. Marks Here upon 
my arrival I found those people embodied, and both ready and desirous to 
be carried to their new country ; and here also, I learnt from the command- 
ing; officer of the post, Captain Belton, of the army, the history of their 
fidelity and of their troubles, and of the feeling and principle which prompted 
that officer, and which must ever redound to his honor, to cast aside every 
selfish consideration, and cheerfully assuming the responsibilities which 
humanity, and to his belief, the true interests of his country called for, to 
relieve the wants their sufferings so pressingly solicited, and to prove him- 
self, as thev expected, the representative of their great father, to be their 



262 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



kind protector and friend. They came to him hungry, and he gave to them 
meat and bread ; cruelly pinched by the inclemencies of winter, naked and 
destitute, and he gave to them blankets ; without the means of defending 
their wives and children (whom he could not in prudence, either with 
regard to the safety of his little garrison or to its health, admit within his 
narrow defences,) and he bought for them a few rifles. I need not 1 am 
sure say more to exonerate this officer from anv liability to which this gen- 
erous procedure may have exposed him; and I hope I have said enough to 
entitle him to a grateful notice. 

Previous to my arrival there was no officer or agent of our Government 
present who felt himself authorized to direct the embarkation of the Indians 
assembled here. Upon my landing my first opinions were in favor of an 
immediate removal of the families already collected. Farther considera- 
tion, however, upon consulting with General Gaines, in which the wishes, 
as verbally expressed to me, of his Excellency Governor Eaton and of Gen- 
eral Clinch, that the friendly warriors should be organized into a corps of 
scouts and spies. My belief in the valuable service these warriors might 
render in that capacity, and their own wishes to serve as such, together 
with the hope that a brief campaign might result in a considerable rein- 
forcement to the emigrating party, being duly considered, 1 determined to 
await the result of at least the first action. 

General Gaines contemplates moving a few miles to the southward in 
the direction of smokes which have been seen for some days past, and from 
thence on to the hammocks of the Withlacooche, which are thought to be the 
strong holds of the foe, and where it is believed he is in force and will 
venture an engagement; and where, should a combined attack be made by 
the forces, from above and below, simultaneously, we may hope for the 
most decisive results. 

Again and respectfully urging upon your earliest consideration and ac- 
tion the several petitions and sentiments contained in the talk of the chiefs 
enclosed and of this letter, 

I have the honor to be, sir, 

Most respectfully, 

Your very obedient servant, 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, 
Lieut. Dis. Agent^ Acting Sup. Flor. Indians, 

Hon. Lev/is Cass, 

' Secretary of War. 



Talk of the friendly Seminole Chiefs Ho-lat-e-o-marth-la, Cot-chee-mi-co ? 
or Fuc-kee-lustee-hajo, Hotul kee-o-ho la, and E-con-hat-kee-micco, to their 
great, father the President of the United States. 

Our Father : We wish to. say something to you. It. is because we wish 
to follow the advice which your agent, who has been so cruelly murdered 
by some of our crazy red men, always gave to us. General Thompson was 
our good friend and always gave us good talk. He told us, and told Charley 
O-marth-la, Ho-tul-kee-o-marth-la. and the other chiefs, who last spring de- 
clared themselves willing to obey our great father, and to remove to another 
country, w hen we were all together, that whilst our people were true friends 
and kept their words, that our great father would protect them, and moke 
them comfortable ; and that they should never lose any thing by being good 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



263 



friends. We said then that this talk was good, and that we would remem- 
ber it. We have done so, Our brother Charley O-marth-la has been killed 
for this by those of our countrymen who wished him to forget his word, 
and to become your enemy ; and these bad men have frightened some of 
the others who were then with us to forget their words, and to join them, 
But as we were not frightened into doing what we knew was wrong, we 
have come into your fort, and have placed ourselves beside your people like 
true friends. 

Could our father t nowsee us, he would see us with all our people around 
us, at the place where we were told to come ; and from whence the big 
canoes were to carry us to our new country ; we are here, and are ready to 
go. If we did not mean to go we would not have been here, but with our 
mad brothers in the red path. We believe that our great father is our very 
best friend. General Thompson has always told us so, and he always told 
us the truth. We have sent several talks to you, through our friend who 
is dead, and we now send you this, to shake hands with you, and to say 
that though the chief of the Seminoles, Micanopy, has shed blood, yet we 
will not ; that we have joined the white men, and wish to remain beside 
them shedding no blood, but waiting patiently to be c armed to our new 
homes. 

When some of us [this talk is given by Ho-lat-e-o-marth-la, in behalf of 
the chiefs, and he was one of the delegation who was sent west, ] went out 
with our former agent, Major Fhagan, to look at the country that was to be 
given to us, we met there the chiefs whom our great father had sent to meet 
us to show us the country, (the board of Indian commissioners.) These 
chiefs told us, before we agreed to go to live in that country, many things 
that we were glad to hear;; and that we should have our own trader, and 
our own blacksmith, and that they would try and get for us an agent sepa- 
rate from the Creeks. W"e hope all this will be so. At that time we asked 
that our two traders in this country, (Mr. Erastus Rogers, the late sutler at 
Port King, and Captain Saunders, the present sutler at Fort Brooke,) might 
be our traders there ; but, as one of them is now dead, we ask only for the 
other, Captain Saunders, and this because we have traded long with him, 
and we know him. We believe that our father will give us a better 
blacksmith than we can recommend. We want one who can work well; 
who is good natured, and who will help us cheerfully. 

Our father, it is now more than nine moons (Ho-lat-e-o-marth-la, and his 
people, owing to the threats of his enemies, and the advice of the late 
agent, were obliged to flee from their towns last spring to the neighborhood 
of the Tallahassee country, and had hardly settled down again when they 
were obliged to retreat to this place,) since we were driven from our homes 
owing to our taking the talk of our great father ; our homes have been 
burnt ; our poneys (twenty-eight in number) have been stolen from us, 
our provisions destroyed, and probably some of our cattle driven 
away. But we believe that our father is just, and that our losses will be 
made good to us. 

Our father, we have seen much trouble since this ciivision came amongst 
our people ; our lives have been constantly threatened, and we have lived 
unquiet and unsafe in our towns ; and we have felt as if we had, and in- 
deed, for some moons past, have had no home; and this because we hive 
been your fast and true friends. We are now poor and destitute. When 
we get to our new country, and our money is paid to us, many people will 



£64 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



.come with complaints and with claims, and will want it, and much of it will 
perhaps be given to them. 

Our father, we shall in this way suffer from the faults of our countrymen 
who have spilled the blood of so many of your people, and who are now 
fightiiig against you : and who will be glad to see such suffering come upon 
us ; we think that those who have been spilling like water the blood of 
white men ought to be thankful if they come off with their lives ; and we 
then to us who have remained true to you should "be given all 

that lias been promised by the treaty. • 

Our father has promised us that we shall never be moved from our new 
country: that we may there live under our own laws and customs; and 
that it shall be our own country forever.' When we are settled there, we 
want a paper from our father giving us a right to our country. 

Our father, we have said our talk ; we wished to say it whilst we lived, 
for in these, times we know not how soon we may be amongst the dead. 
We hope that our father will find our talk 2:ood. 

BO-LA-TE O MARTH-LA, his x mark. 

FUC-KEE LUSTEE-HAJO. his x mark. 

HO TUL-KFE G HA-LA. ' his x mark. 

E-COM-HAT-KEE-MiaCO, his x mark. 

In presence of 

Joseph W.Harris. Lieut. 

Dis. Agent and acting Sup. Flor. Indians. 
S. W. Hvlse. M. D. 

Johx X aIvslett. Interpreter. 

marJi. 

Fort Brooke. Florida. February 7. 1S36. 



Frasers Redoubt, Fort Brooke. Florida. 

February 15. 1S36. 

Sir: I have the honor, herewith, to enclose to you copies of a letter ad- 
dressed by me to the honorable Secretary ol War. of this date, and of a talk 
sent by the friendly Seminole chiefs, to the President of the United States, 
accompanying the same. I beg leave, respectfully,, to call your particular 
attention to the sentiments and petitions contained therein, and to solicit your 
friendlv interests in the furtherance of them. 

These papers, together with my letters addressed to your office of the 30th 
December. 1S35. 10th January. 17th January, and 7th February, 1836. 
place you in possession of all official information that I am at present pre- 
pared to give. 

I am alone here, that is. unaided in your department. My duties bind me 
more closely to the transports and the pickets, than, as a soldier who may 
never enjoy another opportunity of seeing service. I could wish : but if I 
succeed in securing your approbation, by proving myself useful to you in 
any capacity. I shall be satisfied. 

Wishing you every happiness. I remain, sir. 

Your most obedient servant. 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, Lieut. 
Dis. Agent and acting Sup. Florida Indians , 

To Com. Gen. Sub. 

Lnited States Army. 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



265 



Rock Row on White river. 
Arkansas Territory ; Feb. 21. 1836. 

SiRt No emigrant Seminoles have yet arrived ; and in this isolated 
place, I can get no positive information as to whether any part of the tribe 
will reach here or not. Twenty-three teams have been in readiness, wait- 
ing here most of the time since 10th instant. There are now sixteen wait- 
ing. Some passengers in a steam-boat from the mouth of White river, re- 
ported here, that they saw Captain Brown at that place about the 15th 
instant, on his return from New Orleans to Little Rock, I have been unable 
to get any late information from Florida, and regret that Captain Brown did 
not write by the steam-boat referred to : either directing the discharge of the 
teams here, or giving information as to whether any Indians are expected 
to arrive. I have heard nothing from him since 10th January, when he 
directed me to repair to this place. As he did not avail himself of the op- 
portunity to direct the discharge of the teams, although just from the neigh- 
borhood of the Seminoles, I am led to think it possible that a party may still 
arrive ; and shall, therefore, not take the responsibility of discharging the 
teams for a few days, hoping that I may receive certain information. 

The contractor informs me that, besides the teams waiting here at ex- 
pense to the Government ; there are fifteen or twenty others near by, that, 
he has at command, on the arrival of the party. I proposed to give a final 
discharge to the sixteen teams now under pay, and who are very impatient 
to get away, provided he would make use of the fifteen or twenty teams re- 
ferred to, to transport the party in case of its arrival, and such others ex- 
cepting the sixteen, as might be needed. 

I made this proposition to save all expense to Government, but he de- 
clines acceding to it. I have written to Captain Brown desiring him to 
give me the earliest advice. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

J. VAN HORN, 
Lieutenant Infantry. 

Brig. Gen, George Gibson, 

Com. Gen. Subsistence, Washington. 



Little Rock, A. T. Feb. 24, 1836. 

Sir : I returned to this place last evening, and have this morning des- 
patched an express to Rock Row, with orders to discharge all the teams 
that may be assembled at that place for the purpose of removing the Semi- 
nole Indians. The express will reach Rock Row to-morrow in the course 
of the day, to which date payments for the teams that may have assembled 
for the purpose of removing the Seminoles, will be made. 

There is little probability of any of the Seminoles reaching Rock Row 
before the middle of next month, and then, if any, the number must be 
small— say 500 or so — in fact, no calculation of numbers or of the period 
of arrival, can, at this time, be made. I shall, nevertheless, be prepared to 
send any party or parties of the Seminoles that may reach this Territory, 
without delay, to their new country. 

I have apprised the contractors connected with this removal, of the delays, 
and the small number, in all probability, that will emigrate, so that they may 
shape their arrangements in accordance thereto. 



266 



[ Doc. No. 27 i. ] 



The Seminole goods, consisting of blankets, plaid, linsey, <fce. ordered to 
the mouth of White river, reached that place early this month, but as the 
object for landing them at that place, that of distribution, having in a mea- 
sure ceased, and as my duties elsewhere required my presence, I deemed it 
best to order those goods to this place, where they now are, and will remain 
until further instructions in relation to the disposition of them are received. 

I reported some time ago, the arrival at this place of several boxes, con- 
taining rifles and blankets, shipped from Columbus, Alabama, for the 
Creeks. No instructions have yet been received for further disposition of 
this property. 

I have to acknowledge the receipt of several communications with en- 
closures, &c. dated as follows ; one of the 6th, two of the 12th, one of the 
22d, two of the 25th, and one of the 30th of January last. 

The references and instructions therein contained, shall be attended to. 
I am, sir, very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 

J. BROWN, Capt U. S. A. 
Pr. Disbursing Agent, Indian Removal 

Gen. George Gibson, 

Com. Gtn. Sub. Washington, D. C. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. March 4, 1836, 

Sir : Yours of the 7th ult. dated at Fort Brooke, is received. Your 
disposition of the transports is entirely approved. 

Keep me constantly apprised of every thing of interest appertaining to 
the Seminole Indians. 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEO. GIBSON. 

To Lieut. J. W. Harris, 

Dis. Sgt. fyc. Fort King. Florida. 



Fort Drake, March 8, 1836. 
Sir : Yours of the 6th ult. was received by me at Fort King, on 1st insr. 
and I perfectly agree in opinion with the Secretary of War, that the removal 
of the Seminole Indians will have to be by coercion, and consequently a 
military operation, and that my services as an assistant agent are not ne- 
cessary ; and although misfortune makes me need the pay, yet, sir, I had 
rather be out of the service than to be drawing the money of the Govern- 
ment without the rendition of any equivalent services. 

In am, very respectfully, sir, 

Your most obedient servant. 

JOEL YANCEY. 

Gen. Geo. Gibson, C. CL 8. 



[ Dec. No. 271. j 267 



Emigration op Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. March 1L 1836. 
Sir: Enclosed for your information is copy of a letter from Mr. Jackson, 
and my reply. Five thousand dollars were remitted to meet the draft, and 
I will immediately direct another deposite to your credit in the Manhattan 
Bank, of ten thousand dollars. 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEO. GIBSON. 

To Lieut. J. W. Harris, 

Acting Sup. Sem. Rem. Fort King. Florida. 



War Department, March 12, 1836. 

Sir : I enclose a message to the friendly Seminole chiefs, in answer to 
their talk to the President, transmitted in your letter of the 15th ult. 

You will deliver it to them, and enforce the views presented in it, by 
such considerations as may occur to you. I will also thank you to trans- 
mit such a report on the subject of their losses, as will enable the Depart- 
ment to judge whether any thing can be done for them under the existing 
laws. They have suffered greatly, and behaved with unexampled fidelity, 
during the perilous crisis. So far as the power of this Department extends, 
I am prepared to show them every reasonable indulgence. I cannot, how- 
ever, go beyond the provisions of the laws. 

I see no difficulty upon your statement on the subject of the provisions 
issued to them. The other issues that have been made, shall be judged of 
as soon as the papers reach here. Your general views meet my entire 
concurrence, and I have only to add, that I am exceedingly desirous that 
these people should be removed as speedily as possible, and established 
comfortably in the country provided for them west of the Mississippi. 

Respectfully. &c. 

LEW. CASS. 

Lieut. J. W. Harris, 

Acting Sup. Sem. Rem. Fori Brooke, Florida. 



War Department, March 12, 1836. 

My Friends: Your letter to your great father, the President of the 
United States, has been laid before him, and I am directed by him to say to 
you, that he highly appreciates your faithful conduct during the difficulties 
m Which you have been placed. Many of your people have behaved badly, 
and have brought destruction upon themselves. You have, however, kept 
your promises, and have not shed the blood of a white man. This shall 
long be remembered. 

Your great father hopes you will speedily remove to the country provided 
for you. west of the Mississippi, and establish yourselves there, where you 
can live comfortably and provide for your women and children. 

As to your request on the subject of a trader, I see no difficulty in its 
being granted. On your arrival in the west you will be under the super- 
intendence of an agent of the Government, who ; by law, possesses the 



268 



[ Doc. No. 271. J 



power of licensing traders among you. He will, no doubt, be disposed to 
yield to your wishes by the selection of your friend, Captain Saunders. In 
like manner he will provide for you also a good blacksmith. 

Lieut. Harris will be written to on the subject of the losses you have ex 
perienced. Until detailed information is received from him I cannot tell 
you what course will be taken. 

Nor can I, at present, say any thing on the subject of the claims which 
will be presented against you for the misconduct of some of your people. 
That matter must await such an examination as may be given to it at the 
proper time. 

I again renew the assurances before made to you, that the country 
assigned for your residence west of the Mississippi will be guarantied to 
you as long as you choose to occupy it 

Your friend, 

LEWIS CASS. 

To the Chiefs of the friendly Seminoles 

at Tampa Bay. 



New Orleans, March 19, 1836. 

Sir: A few days after I wrote to you from Rock Row, the teams were 
discharged by direction of Captain Brown. I remained there until the 
end of February, expecting to hear from Captain Brown. Receiving no 
instructions from him, and having been informed by the receiver of public 
moneys at Fayetteville, Arkansas, that he had not sufficient funds to cash 
the two drafts which you forwarded me, I repaired to this city, where it 
will likewise be more convenient for me to take charge of any party of 
Seminoles that may emigrate. 

Captain Brown is now with me, and by his direction I shall proceed to- 
day to Mobile, for the purpose of obtaining the Railway corn mills for the 
Cherokees and Creeks. 

Captain Brown informs me that Lieut. Hams 'has informed him that a 
party of four hundred and forty-six Seminoles might be expected here 
about the 10th of the present month. They have not yet arrived. 
Yery respectfully, sir, 

Your obedient servant. 

J. VAN HORN, Lt 3d Infantry, 

JJis. agent Sem. Removal 

Gen. George Gibson, 

Commissary General Subsistence. 



Fort Brooke, Florida, March 23, 1836. 

Sir : I have this moment received your letter of the 4th January, enclo- 
sing the Secretary of the Treasury's decision in relation to deposites, dated 
2d of January, 1836. 

This is the only communication, I have received from the Department 
of later date, than the 18th November last ; and my correspondent at New 
Orleans, who is authorized to receive my letters from the city post office, 
writes that no official communications had come to hand, as late as the 5th 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



269 



in $t. Should any other, than the above acknowledged letters, have been 
addressed to me, at any place, since the 18th November, 1836, I should 
request that copies of them should be forthwith sent to New Orleans ; also, 
please forward a copy of the treaty, of the 9th May, 1832, to the same office. 

1 hope my estimate, dated 10th December, 1835, has ere this been acted 
upon, and the funds located as required, viz: $10,000 at New Orleans, and 
$26,056 14 at New York. Circumstances which, I am satisfied you fully 
appreciate, have prevented me complying with your circular, 1st October, 
1835, in relation to the estimates. I am well satisfied we shall require 
every cent estimated for by me on the 10th December, and I am afraid 
much more. In a day or two, I will endeavor to forward an estimate, 
based upon the most reasonable materials I can command. 

Col. Lindsay's brigade, consisting of the Alabama and Florida volun- 
teers, a corps of Louisana infantry, and a detachment of U. S. marines, 
left here yesterday, to assume the position assigned to it, in a co-operative 
movement, to be made upon the hammocks of the Withlacoochee, by the 
forces of Gen. Scott, on the 25th inst. The columns of Generals Clinch 
and Eustis are advancing ; the former from Fort Drane, and the latter 
from the St. Johns river, via Volusia. The movement is considered a 
judicious one. 

Upon the departure of General Gaines', brigade from this post, on the 
14th ultimo, that officer carried with him most of the friendly warriors, 
promising that they should return in a few days. A part of those have 
recently come back, the remainder still continue with the brigade, lately 
commanded by Gen. Gaines, and which itself has never returned. In 
consequence of the lateness of the season, and the rapid approach of warm 
weather, I recently advised with Mr. Sheffield, that, as we received no in- 
telligence from Gen. Clinch, we should urge the Indians, already assembled 
here, to embark. We did so, promising that the warriors who are absent, 
should be speedily sent after them. But the idea of a division, is exceed- 
ingly repugnant to them ; they will not consent to leave any of their friends 
behind them ; and from what I could gather from the chiefs who have 
recently seen General Clinch, it must be the wish of that officer that they 
should not be embarked for the present. 

I have the honor to be, sir, 

Very respectfully, 

Your most obedient servant, 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, Lieut. 
Dis. Agent, Florida Indians. 

To Com. Gen. Sub. U. S. Army. 



Fort Brooke, March 31, 1836. 
Sir : I have the honor herewith, to enclose to you a statement of agents 
and others employed in the removal and subsistence of the Seminole In- 
dians, for the quarter ending 31st of March, 1836, and a statement of cattle 
belonging to the Seminole Indians, delivered at Fort Brooke, in the quar- 
ter ending, 31st December, 1835, and 31st March, 1836 ; also a receipt for 
22,500 lbs of fresh beef, the proceeds from the slaughter of ninety-three 
beeves, calves and yearlings, the property of Seminole Indians, assembled 
at Fort Brooke for emigration. Since which time I have received seventy 



270 



[ Doc. No. 271. ] 



hides, weighing 696 lbs, which I sold at 7 cents per lb. and received the 
money, ($66 92,) which I shall pay on sight, to Lieutenant Harris, the dis- 
bursing agent. . . . ' 

I have the honor to be, 

Your obedient servant . 

D. M. SHEFFIELD, 
Ast. Agent and acting Sup. Sem. Rem. 

To Gen. Geo. Gibson, 

Com. Gen. Sub. 



Fort Brooke, Florida, April 4, 1836. 
Sir : I have, herewith, the honor to cover to you my account current, 
returns of property and of provisions, and statement of agents for the first 
quarter of 1836. 

1 forward no statement of letters, for I have received but one during the 
quarter, viz : of January 4th, from your office. 

We hear, by Indian runners this evening, that the columns of General 
Scott's army are in movement upon this post, having effected nothing upon 
the Witheloocooche. 

I have but little hope that any thing decisive will be effected this cam- 
paign. 

I have the honor to be, sir, 

Respectfully', your obedient servant, 

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, Lieut. 
Dis. Agt. Seminole Indians. 

To Gen Geo Gibson, 

Commissary General, fyc. 



Emigration of Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. Sub. April 11, 1836. 

Sir : Yours of the 23d is this day received. Enclosed are copies of 
sundry communications heretofore addressed to you, and also a copy of the 
treaty you ask for. In addressing you at Tampa Bay I forwarded a dupli- 
cate of each letter to Fort King. 

You will perceive that $15,000 were deposited to your credit in the 
Manhattan Bank at New York, on the 11th and 12th of March. To-day I 
have required the additional sum of $11,000, to be deposited to your credit 
in the above named bank ; and §10,000 to your credit in the Union Bank 
of Louisiana, New Orleans. Write frequently. Every description of in- 
formation is interesting, and of course desirable. 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. S. , 

Lieutenant J. W. Harris, 

Disbursing Agent. Sem, Rem. Neiv Orleans. 



RG 10.5 



[ Doc. No, 271. ] 



271 



Emigration op Indians, 
Office Com. Gen. of Sub. April 14, 1S36. 
Sir: Until further advised, you will consider yourself as superintendent 
of the emigration of the Seminole Indians, and will be governed by the 
orders and instructions of the general commanding in Florida. 

The Department has every confidence in your zeal and intelligence, and 
relies on your best exertions to effect the removal of the Indians. 
Keep me constantly apprised of every thing of interest. 

Respectfully, &c. 

GEO. GIBSON, C. G. 8. 

Lieutenant J. W. Harris, 

Disbursing Agent, Seminoles, Fori King, Florida, 



Tallahassee, May 7, 18^6^ 
Sir: I have the honor to enclose to you herewith a muster roll of the 
Seminole Indians which were at Fort King, and which were to be re- 
moved, in compliance with an order from Major General Scott, which is 
also herewith enclosed. I left Fort Drane on the 28th ultimo, and arrived 
in this place on yesterday, the distance is one hundred and ninety miles. I 
shall leave for St. Marks on to-morrow, and from what I can learn, shall be 
enabled to embark for New Orleans in the course of two or three days. 
There was an Indian, by the name of Billy, left at Fort Drane (with Gen. 
Clinch) with three children, his wife, with another Indian woman, having 
been taken from near Fort King by the hostile Indians. It was thought 
best by General Clinch that these four should not be removed at this time. 
I have the honor to be, 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

D. M. SHEFFIELD, 
Ass. Agt. and Act. Sup. Sem. Rem. 

To the Hon. George Gibson. 

Com. Gen. Sub. U. S. Artmp 



Head Quarters Army of Florjda, 

Tampa Bay, April 9, 1835. 

Orders No. 34. — The embarkation of the friendly Indians for their new 
country, west of the Mississippi, will' commence the morning of the 11th 
instant, at the latest ; it is expected that all who are now here will be on 
board the transports by the 18th. The acting superintendent, Mr. Shef- 
field, will repair to Fort King as soon as practicable, to obtain the papers of 
the agency, and to put the friendly Indians at that place in movement for the 
same general destination west of the Mississippi, by any route that may be 
found most practicable, at the joint request of Lieut. Harris, the disbursing 
agent, and of the acting superintendent. Lieutenants Jones and Mead, 
(both of whom are invalids, and unfitted for the arduous duties of the field,) 
are assigned for duty with the emigrating Indians. Those officers will ac- 



21'2 



[ Doc. No. Til. ] 



cordingly embark with the Indians at this place. Acting assistant surgeon 
Halse is relieved from army duty, and will report himself to Lieutenant 
Jones, as the surgeon and physician of the emigrating Indians, now about 
to embark. < 
Bv command of Major General Scott. 

JAMES GADSDEN. 
Quartermaster General. 




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